The Contract
by iamcrafty
Summary: Peeta and Katniss are betrothed to be married when they turn 18. So where does that leave Gale? Luckily for him, Katniss and Peeta have never spoken to each other, but that has to eventually change, right?
1. Chapter 1

The Contract

Prologue

Dana Everdeen clutched the tattered fabric of her worn shawl as she trudged through the ice and snow that flooded the streets. She was as desperate as a poor mother could be and could think of no other place to go. She knocked in the fine painted oak door and waited for the host.  
"Dana?" a man answered, opening the door.  
"Esteban. I had nowhere else to go. They're seizing my home. They're going to throw us onto the streets," she begged. "Please, you have to help me." The old man looked back inside the house and stepped outside, closing the door behind him.  
"I can do nothing to help you," the baker said.  
"Please," she whispered. "We'll be thrown out onto the streets. My children have eaten nothing but snow and boiled grain.  
"I don't know why you came here, Dana. You chose the husband who couldn't provide the life you're used to. I have my own family to consider." Dana sobbed, shivering in the cold of the winter. He looked at her sorrowfully; once she was as beautiful as a glass doll, and he could still see it. Esteban took off his robe and swung it around her. "I can make only this offer. A dowry." Dana looked up. "As the man of the house, it is my responsibility to see to it that my sons are married. Peeta is about Katniss' age, yes?" Dana nods. "I can pay a small annual dowry in exchange for your daughter for my son when they turn 18 years old. It will be the only way I can give this money without it disturbing my wife or the gossip circles."  
"Yes," Dana barely made out through her chattering teeth.  
"The contract will be binding, Dana," he said. "Once agreed upon, not even I will be able to reverse the terms. Your daughter will be promised to my son; they will be married."  
"Yes," she said. "I understand."  
"You don't wish to speak to your husband about it?" she shakes her head. Since Katniss was the female, her father didn't need to be included in the agreement.  
"He would never allow it. Best to make these decisions without him." Esteban nodded his head.  
"Come inside then. The papers are already drawn up. The money can save your family tonight."

Katniss

"Katniss! You better be awake! That nark, Darius, has it out for me and I'm gonna get fired if I'm late again!" I opened my eyes and immediately sat up. My sister, Primrose, and my mom would have already left for school. My mother worked part time as the school nurse and Prim often walked to school with her since she liked to go to school early.  
"Shit," I muttered to myself as I jumped out of bed and threw on a green tank top and jeans as I brushed my teeth with only water. Growing up in the Seam made me used to things like showering once a week and no toothpaste. I grabbed my bag as I ran out the door. I would have to brush my hair with my fingers and hope air would serve as sufficient breakfast.  
"You look like you just woke up," Gale commented as I met him outside.  
"Been up for hours," I retorted leading him in the direction of school. We attended the only school in our district Albie Undersee School, named after our wealthy mayor who had donated the funds to build it. People like me and Gale didn't go to this school. People from the Seam. There was only one school in District 12, running from elementary up to high school. It was a small town. My little sister Primrose and I were able to attend because of our mom who'd worked there since she married my father, and Gale was recruited for basketball a few years back. He had graduated last year, but his coach got him a job as an assistant coach at the school.

Undersee School was a different world from the Seam. The Seam was where the dirt poor live. Most of us would have been completely homeless if Mayor Undersee hadn't set up housing for families who couldn't afford lodging. It was for less rent than normal, but for some people, it was still too much. Gale and I both grew up there, though we had only been friends for 6 years  
When we got to campus, I noticed Gale's attention was averted and followed his gaze to see Peeta Mellarck's eyes drop. I knew Gale was going to be in a bad mood. It was getting closer now. Peeta would turn 18 in a few months and I would be next by the summer.  
My betrothal to Peeta wasn't really a huge deal to me. I never really cared for marriage. My mom always fed me the idea that this was my path and I needn't look for any alternatives, so I didn't. I told Gale about it in the worst way. We had met when I was 11 and he was 12 when our fathers' death were memorialized with medals and certificates after a tragic accident in the mines. When I was 16, he told me he loved me, and my response was telling him of my engagement to someone else. He was so angry with me after that, and though our friendship was eventually restored when he realized he was being an ass, he never forgave Peeta.  
"I don't like the way he looks at you," Gale said without looking away from the blond boy.  
"He doesn't look at me; he doesn't even know me," I said pulling his arm towards the school entrance. It was true; after the signing of the contract, our families had nothing to do with each other.  
"He's always looking at you." He followed me and I held onto his arm to keep him from turning back to stare down Peeta. "It doesn't bother you? This whole arrangement?" I sighed.  
"We've been over this," I said exasperatedly. "Marrying him will mean my family can still receive a yearly allowance. Not marrying him will mean my family will have to pay back all the money given to us for the past 12 years."  
"Unless the contract is broken," he reminded me.  
"The contract can only be broken if neither of us are in a position to be married. And seeing how were both alive and without a terminal illness, there isn't anything we can do." Gale kicked the wall and stuck his hands in his jacket pockets. "I have to go to class." He looked at me and nodded. "Stop thinking about it. Nothing is going to change between us. We'll be fine." He softly touched my face and I smiled before turning to enter my class.  
"All right, let's get the interesting stuff out of the way," Mr. Abernathy said as I took my seat. First period was home room, so every morning he read off the announcements and latest school news. "There's a play; go, if you wanna waste $15. Football game on Saturday. Bake sale for cheerleading," he read off mundanely. He put down the paper, but looked back at it. "Oh, almost missed this." Mr. Abernathy scoffed. "Prom. This is the one they're making me go to. Damn." He threw the piece of paper into the trash. "Okay, who wants to talk about old people?" He was a history teacher.

I met up with Gale for lunch under our tree. The others liked tables and chairs with their lunches, but we preferred grass and trees.  
"Why doesn't Prim have lunch with us anymore?" Gale asked as he took out his honey and spread it for us in the dry toast I brought.  
"Because she has friends," I said right before sinking my teeth into the sweet bliss. For us, honey was a rarity, but sometimes his mother who worked at the supermarket would come home with little luxuries like these.  
"Rory will be sad," he joked. "I think he wanted to be her only friend." Primrose was such a beautiful person. It didn't surprise me she made friends with the others when she started here just last year. She used to eat lunch with us even still, but I knew even that would have to end.  
"Why don't we have friends?" Gale asked jokingly.  
"Because my personality sucks," I answered.

Peeta

"Hey guys, what's going on," Finnick greeted us as he threw his bag in the table. I was sitting with my friends at the table we always sat at for lunch.  
"Ew, Finnick, get your nasty bag off our food," whined Glimmer. She was the head cheerleader. I didn't understand why they always had to be wearing their uniforms.  
"S'up, bitches!" yelled Cato as he parted the people in his way with his ego on his way over to us. I didn't know why this guy was in our group. He was friends with Finnick, I guess. They were both on the basketball team.  
"You ask Annie to the dance yet, Finnick?" Glimmer asked him.  
"Of course! Who can resist this piece of ass?" Finnick boasted, pointing to himself.  
"The fact that she is your girlfriend may have also helped," Madge pointed out.  
"Why doesn't Annie even eat with us?" Cato asked.  
"Because your face freaks her out." Annie was a nice girl, but extremely shy. They were betrothed, too. I guess they'd been dating since elementary school because they were always together.  
"She has clubs to go to during lunch," Glimmer spoke up.  
"You figure out who you're taking to Prom, Peeta?" Madge asked.  
"I don't think I'm going," I said. There was only one person I wanted to ask, but she wouldn't go with me in a million years. Madge smiled. I looked over to the grass area. No one usually headed over there until after eating, about halfway into lunch, but Katniss and Gale were always there.  
"Why don't you take your fiancé over there?" Cato asked smugly. Everyone knew of our betrothal, but we had to be the only couple in Panem who never talked to each other when our proximity was so close. It wasn't uncommon for marriages to be arranged. Mostly it was business arrangements or whatever. My brother was married off a few years ago. I shrugged at Cato's question. "She's a bitch but she's cute. Mind if I ask her if you're not going?"  
"You're a dick, Cato," I simply said.


	2. Because You're My Girl

**Wow... thanks so much guys for reviewing and alerting my story! Wow... totally didn't expect such a big response. So excited! I'm posting the next chapter quickly because I have it ready and I LOVE hearing from you guys. Here's the next one. I hope you like.**

Because You're My Girl

Peeta

After lunch, I made my way over my locker when I was stopped by a very short, dark-haired girl in one of my classes. She shot up like a fertilized flower, which really freaked me out.  
"Hello, Peeta," she greeted me.  
"Hello, Clove," I answered with reserve.  
"You're friends with Cato, right?"  
"No." Didn't even dissuade her.  
"Can you deliver this to him?" She handed me a card that I guessed was her way of asking him to the Prom and as I reflex, I took it. "Thank you, Peeta." And she left before I could tell her I didn't have any classes with him. Damn. I considered tossing it in the trash, but I figured I could just give it someone from his team. Today was Thursday, so he should have basketball practice.

Katniss

Gale had basketball practice so I would have to walk home solo. I preferred having Gale around; it made the walk home seem faster. I got to my locker late so the halls were clear. I opened my locker and took out what I needed for the night.  
"You need help with that?" I turned around to see one of Peeta's friend I had seen around. All I knew about him was I wished I knew less.  
"No, I'm fine," I replied as I grabbed a folder and put a textbook away.  
"That looks really heavy," Cato said trying to take it from me, but I pulled it back.  
"Really, I can handle it," I insisted. I did not want this guy to touch my things.  
"Oo.. You got attitude," he said jokingly, though I didn't find it funny. He let go of my bag, but stepped in closer to me. "Hey, I heard no one's asked you to Prom. Could the rumors be true?" I just eyed him oddly as I slung the 50-pound backpack on.  
"I don't do dances," I said.  
"Now, that's a shame. Because you see, I don't have a date and you don't have a date, so wouldn't it just work out nicely if we went together?"  
"Like I said, I don't do dances." I turned to walk off, but of course the douche jumped in front of me.  
"I'll be a perfect gentleman, and I'll even pay for the tickets." Perfect. Gentleman. I was pretty sure these words had never in anyone's lifetime been used to describe Cato.  
"I'm not interested."  
"In going to the dance or going with me?"  
"Both."  
"Now I'm offended. Many people would consider me a quality guy." Oh gosh. I wasn't about to have this conversation.  
"I'm leaving now." I tried to maneuver around him, but apparently he had more to say.  
"Do you know how many girls drop at my feet when I announce I'm single? Who the hell do you think are?"  
"Clearly someone with the gift of sight." I guess that really pissed Cato off because the next thing I knew, I was thrown against the locker, Cato grabbing my face.

Peeta  
"Have you guys seen Cato?" I asked one of the basketball players in the gym.  
"He mouthed off the coach so he sent him home," he replied. Great. Now I was stuck with this stupid card until tomorrow. Maybe I could stick it in his locker.

I made my way through the school. As I walked down the halls, I heard talking and yelling. It didn't sound good.  
"Who the hell do you think you are?" I recognized the voice as Cato's. I could tell he was working his charms.  
"Clearly someone with the gift of sight." I almost laughed at the comment, especially when I realized whose voice that was. When I heard the banging against the locker, I sprinted around the corner to see Cato in Katniss' face, grabbing her cheeks with one hand with his arm at her neck.  
"Hey!" I yelled. I ran up to them and Cato loosened his grip.  
"This isn't your business, Mellarck!" he yelled.  
"I will fucking break you in half, if you don't back the hell away from her," I threatened, approaching quickly. Cato was faster than me, but I was a hell of a lot stronger. I moved closer and closer to him, and like a game of chicken, he backed up. He smirked and looked at Katniss.  
"Your knight awaits," he said to Katniss before leaving, glaring at me as he walked away.  
"Are you okay?" I asked Katniss. She seemed shook up, but I could see her switching to a defensive mode.  
"I'm fine."  
"Lemme look," I said as I reached for her face. She batted me away and I raised my hands to show I meant no harm. She glared at me, but she wasn't resisting. Slowly, I touched her face and turned her head from side to side to check for any markings in the light. "It's a little red. Most if it should be gone in a few minutes, but I think there's gonna be some small bruises." I could have killed Cato for doing this.  
"I'm fine." I took my hands off and picked up her backpack.  
"Can I at least take you home?" She looked at my eyes.  
"I can walk," she said, trying to take her bag back, but I moved it out of her reach.  
"I know. I just want to make sure you get home okay. For me." I gave her a smile and she huffed but led the way. I walked with her a few minutes before speaking up.  
"Can I ask what happened back there?" I asked, breaking our silence.  
"He doesn't take rejection well," she muttered.  
"I'm sorry he hurt you." She shrugged.  
"I'm fine." We headed outside and I led her to the parking lot. I unlocked the doors to my car and opened the door for her. She seemed irritated with me, but I just ignored it.  
"Why did you help me?" she asked me when I opened the door for her.  
"Knowing Cato, you may have gotten off easy," I replied. I smiled, but she was still poker faced.  
"Not today. That one day. Why did you give me your book?"

Oh, so she did remember.

Katniss

It was 7th grade. I remember because Mrs. Trinket, the 7th grade English teacher, loved to torture me in class. She'd find ways to point out my flaws and humiliate me however she could. Experience led me to assume it was because I was a Seam kid. She had been preparing an in-class project and for weeks, and she kept reminding us to bring our textbooks to class. She even singled me out to make sure _I_ didn't forget. She threatened to use a rarely used, but "legal and legitimate" form of correction in order to ensure none of us forgot.  
Well, of course, it was that day that I mistake my English textbook for one my mother's ridiculously large book of remedies. I remembered looking into my backpack and my face falling off my body when I realized my error. My heart sank to think about the strikes on my hands that she was probably all-too-eager to give me. Not to mention the talks in the teacher' lounge about how the nurse's problem child was a screw up and not even the threat of pain was enough to handle me. She seemed to walk so slowly and so quickly at the same time to my desk.  
It was at this moment of my dread when I felt something being slid across my desk. I look up to find an English textbook in the middle of my desk. I barely saw Peeta Mellarck's eyes as he turned away from me when Mrs. Trinket walked up between us.  
"Mr. Mellarck, I've asked you to take out your textbook," she almost sang.  
"I forgot it," he said bashfully. She pursed her lips and sighed sharply.  
"I'm very disappointed in you, Mr. Mellarck. It may be expected from someone of lesser class, but for a well-brought up citizen of this district to neglect basic responsibilities is simply juvenile. I can't believe that after all of my reminders and emphasis of the importance of this lesson, you still could not show me the respect of bringing the correct material to class. I'm sorry, Peeta. Despite your performance in my class, you must deal with the consequences of your choices." She pointed to the front of the class and he stood in front of everyone with his hands out. He didn't look at me when he was struck all 20 times, nor did her flinch or show pain. I think this infuriated her and she hit harder with the thick instrument of correction, but he didn't make a sound. I had no idea why I never spoke up. I wanted to, but I didn't. And I never thanked him.

"Why did you give me your book?" I asked again. There was a harshness to my question that I didn't intend. I guess I was still defensive. I hated that I had this debt; I never asked for his help, but I took it and ran like a coward. For awhile, I pretended it never happened or that it wasn't as big a deal as it should have been. Then I began to question his intentions. He started the car. He didn't answer me right away, and then smiled.  
"Because you're my girl," he said without looking at me. We sat in silence as he drove me home, the weight of words hanging in the air. I was nobody's girl. I guessed _technically_ I was his, and I wasn't sure how I felt about that. As we began to enter the Seam, I realized that I didn't want him to see my home.  
"You can drop me off here," I said as we approached a nearby intersection.  
"I can take you home," he said without looking at me.  
"I can walk from here."  
"I told you. I want to make sure you get home okay." I didn't know how he knew where I lived but without my instruction, he knew where to turn to get to my end of the world. He pulled up to my house where the line between road and front yard was very much blurred. "Do you need help with your bag?" he asked when he put the car in park.  
"No, I'm fine." I got out of the car. I peeked in before closing the door. "Thank you, Peeta," I said. "For the ride. And earlier. And the book."  
"I'm glad you're okay." I closed the door and started to head in when I noticed my mom at the door. It was hard to read her face if she was glad or worried to see us talking. Without turning back at Peeta, I slipped past my mom and entered our house.  
Our one-story home was cozy, as my sister would call it. To me, it was the size of a tree house and just as cramped. Primrose and I slept in the living room while my mom had her own room. We didn't mind though; it was hers and my father's for too long for her to switch.  
"Katniss," my mom called. Here we go, I thought to myself. "Was that Peeta Mellarck dropping you off home?"  
"Yes," I said casually. She took a seat beside me on my bed.  
"Are you friends?" I looked at my mom.  
"No, he just gave me a ride home."  
"Honey, I wanted to talk to you about.. him." Oh, this was gonna be good. "I know I've never asked you, but how are with the arrangement?"  
"It's fine, mom," I said annoyed. Why did she want to talk about this now? "I'll get married, they'll pay you, you can take care of Prim. That's the only reason I'm doing this, for Prim." My mother nodded sadly.  
"And what about Gale?" she asked.  
"What about Gale?" I snapped.  
"Sweetheart, you can't love your friend more than your husband."  
"Well, I'm not giving up Gale, so whatever is it you're trying to say, it better not suggest stop seeing him."  
"Katniss, when you marry, until you and Peeta are able to take care of yourselves, you're going to live in his parents' home. And Peeta's mother has.. expectations."  
"What kind of expectations?" I asked suspiciously.  
"The impossible kind." I was sure there was a warning of some kind in her words, but I didn't respond. "You know that I have been meeting with Peeta' family about the wedding." Again, I stayed silent, but of course I knew. "Is there anything you want for the wedding?" I shook my head without looking at her. I didn't care for those kinds of plans, especially for a wedding that I was forced into. She smiled and put a hand on my cheek. "You're such a beautiful girl, Katniss. I'm sorry for what I've done."

The next day, Gale came to walk me over to school as he usually did. I was awake and ready this time and went out to meet him before he got the chance to accuse me of tardiness again.  
"What happened to your face?"  
"Good morning to you too," I said.  
"What's with this bruise here?" he pointed to the spot where Cato had grabbed me. I decided not to get him upset.  
"I must've slept on something." Gale seemed suspicious but he didn't press on. We started our 45-minute walk towards school.  
"Do you want to go to Prom?" Gale asked as we walked.  
"Prom?"  
"Yeah. I mean, it's not _my_ Prom, but I figured you'd never ask me, so I thought I'd give it a shot."  
"Oh, um," I stutter. I hadn't really thought about going. "I don't have anything to wear."  
"I'm sure your mom has lots of things from her richer days. Besides, we could show the others how to really dance." He smiled. He really did have a beautiful smile. It occurred to me that girls probably did ask him to go, but here he was asking me.  
"I guess. Sure," I said. Gale laughs and hugs me.  
"I thought I was going to have to drag you kicking and screaming," he said. I scoffed.  
"Turns out all you had to do was ask."

**Oo... their first encounter..! I did a little spin on the bread scene since I felt like it's been done. I stole the idea from a Korean music video I saw. And Gale kinda complicates Peeta's game, eh? Hmm.. wonder how he's gonna get around that detail...**


	3. Primrose's Dress

**I'm so touched by your words! I even got a great suggestion that helped me with a part of the story so if you guys have any of those or want to see something, I'll see what I can do with it. The story is mostly written out, so if it doesn't fit, it doesn't fit. But if it makes my writing better, I'm up for the challenge.**

**For those who have asked for more Peeta, here you are!**

Primrose's Dress

Katniss

"Katniss!" I peeked past my open locker door to see Peeta running to me. He pushed through the barrage of people filling the halls trying to get their things from their lockers to go home.

"Peeta," I said. It had been a week since we last talked and I didn't expect him to be eager to talk to me after my curtness with him.

"Hey, I figured you could use some company going home since Gale has practice." It was Thursday. I didn't quite understand why Peeta was all of a sudden talking to me after all these years of us not acknowledging each other. Maybe he was getting some pressure from home for us to get along? Maybe he was trying to make the best of an impossible situation?

"Uh, sure. Why not?" He took my backpack off my shoulder and slung over his own backpack before I could object and pushed me to walk. We engaged in small talk about Mr. Abernathy and the homework until we got to his car. He pulled out of the parking lot and headed to my house.

"Are you going to Prom?" Peeta sprung on me as he drove.

"Oh, uh, Gale asked me to go a few days ago," I replied. I felt a little guilty, though I knew I had no reason to be. Still, it was awkward to tell the guy I was engaged to that I was going with someone else. But Peeta didn't seem upset.

"Have you ever been to a school dance?" I shook my head.

"I'm actually a little worried; I don't even know what to wear." He laughed.

"You could wear a potato sack and you'd still be the prettiest girl there," he said.

"Why would I wear a potato sack?" By the face he made, I was pretty sure I missed whatever it was he was trying to say.

"So you and Gale are close," he said. I nodded.

"He's been my best friend for 6 years."

"Lucky guy." Why was he saying these things? He pulled up to my house. I remembered Prim had a conference with her teacher and my mom, so they wouldn't be home until later. I kind of wanted to make up for my behavior the last time he had dropped me off.

"Do you want to come in?" I asked before letting myself out. Peeta looked very surprised.

"Sure. Yeah, I'd love to." He turned off the car and followed me into my home.

"You want to see my room?" I asked.

"Uh, okay," he replied very tentatively. I outstretched my arms a little bit. "You're in it." He laughed. "I share it with my sister.

"It's very well decorated." He eyed something on the bed that we used as a couch. I looked over to see a bra lying there and quickly hid it.

"And here's the kitchen," I said to distract him. I led us into an area where barely two people could stand with a small dining table and 3 cramped chairs. "There's not a lot of room."

"It's nice." He looked around form side to side until his eyes fell on me and lingered.

"Do you want something to drink?" I asked.

"Yeah, water would be great." I grabbed a cup and filled it with tap water. I led him back out and scanned the bed again before taking a seat. He sat beside me.

"So, when do you turn 18?" I asked, not really sure of what to talk about.

"In a few weeks. March 27."

"Mine is.."

"July 15. I know." I made a curious face.

"Something tells me you know a lot about me." Peeta shrugged.

"Just paying attention." He played with the cup for a little bit. "What do you know about me?" He smiled as he peeked up at me and I knew he was just trying to put me on the spot. I searched through every memory I could of him, which was a limited source.

"You're artistic. Everyone always talks about your project presentations. You're smart; you're always the one with the top score or getting awards for your essays. You play football, and I'm going to assume you're pretty good at it?" He chuckled.

"Well, I'm not getting any awards for that. No one's recruiting me for it like they are for Gale. But I love it. It's a good stress reliever." I looked at his surprisingly muscular arms.

"Do you have to work out a lot for it?" I asked.

"I lift weights at school sometimes. I run at least Tuesdays and Thursdays in the morning. We don't really practice right now since the season just ended." I made a face.

"I think I'm exhausted just hearing about it." Peeta smiled and looked down, playing with his cup once more.

"Do you mind? About the engagement?" I take a second before responding and look down, not sure what to do with myself.

"I don't know. I just kind of think of it as something that has to happen to help my family. Beyond that, I don't really know how I feel about it." He nodded.

"It's a lot to give up for your family. Your freedom." I shrugged.

"I guess. What about you? What do you get out of it?" He smiled and looked down without answering my question. He glanced at his watch.

"I should go. My parents will wonder where I am." I stood up to walk the four steps to see him out.

"Thank you, for the ride. You have a nice car."

"My pleasure. When we're married, I'll let you drive it."

"Katniss! Katniss!" Prim shouted when she came home with my mom later that night. "I got asked to go the Prom! I'm going to my first dance! Katniss I'm so excited!" She jumped into my arms, giving me a very aggressive hug.

"I take it the conference went well," I stated.

"Mom was inside with Mr. Cinna and they made me wait outside and Sam was there for a conference with his teacher and he asked me!"

"Sam.. Sam. Do we know Sam?" I asked Mom.

"We don't know Sam," my mom clarified.

"Sam! I talk about him all the time! Sam!"

"Okay, saying his name louder doesn't make him sound more important," I said.

"Anyway, I'm going to my first dance!" All night long she was like this.

"I heard Primrose is going to the Prom," Gale said at lunch time the next day. "They're letting 14-year olds go now?"

"Yeah, the Prom technically is still for seniors, but I guess they lost too much money last year so they're including the whole high school grades. Prim's excited though. Couldn't stop talking about it last night. All night. She's so excited, that little duck. I'm happy for her." Apparently I didn't look very happy though.

"But..."

"I don't know what she's going to wear. My mom might have a dress for me, but anything Prim could have fit into, my mom got rid of long time ago. And Mayor Undersee raised the rent again on our home, so we're back to rice and water for dinner. She said her date is going to pay for the tickets, but it's still too much. She's gonna be so crushed if she can't go to this dance, Gale."

"Hey, hey." He put his arm around me. "We'll figure something out. I'll keep my eyes open. Maybe my mom can make her something. She likes to sew."

"With what material?" I was so dejected I had to force feed myself. Poor Prim. She was so excited. "I forgot to ask you, how are we going to afford the tickets to the dance?" I asked him.

"I asked the coach to hook me up. Said he'd get me our tickets if I took a couple of our worst players and did some personal training with them.

"Whore," I teased. We fell silent before Gale changed our topic of conversation.

"I heard you're hanging out with the baker's boy." _Oh crap._ Who tells him these things?

"He drove me home a few times," I admitted.

"Katniss..." I wiggled out of Gale's arms and looked up at him.

"I'm not going anywhere, okay? You can hate him and make me feel super uncomfortable when he's around, but you can't change things, Gale. You're just going to have to get used to it." His eye brows were furrowed, which meant he did not like what I said.

"Do you want to marry him?" he asked me. "Forget Prim, forget your family. If you could choose to not marry him, would you?"

"Who wants to be forced into a marriage like this?" I challenged him. "Who would want that for themselves? If my family was taken care of, no, I would not marry Peeta. But my family needs the dowry and I have to marry Peeta. So why talk about the ifs?" Despite my harshness, Gale looked satisfied.

"I just don't want to lose you." He put a hand on my face. There was something so comfortable about this gesture. His hands were warm and rugged.

"You would have to do something really stupid to lose me."

I found myself looking forward to Thursdays. Sometimes I would see Peeta in the halls at school during the week, and he would wave me a quick hello. I wondered if his friends knew he was talking to me. They didn't seem the type to just be okay with it, a girl from the Seam.

On Thursday, right on time, Peeta was at my locker, taking my backpack off my shoulders.

"So, my parents want to throw a dinner for my 18th birthday," he started as we walked to his car.

"That sounds nice," I commented.

"Not really. It's going to a very humiliating experience of my parents showing off how hip and cool they are in front of a houseful of teenagers. Anyway, wanna come?"

"When is it?"

"Saturday after my birthday. In a few weeks. Around 6." I considered it, but I usually spent Saturdays with Gale, and he was already jealous of me spending time with Peeta. But I guessed Peeta knew that. "Gale can come too. I just want you to come." I figured it did solve the problem of canceling on Gale.

"I'll ask him." He smiled.

"As long as you are there."

A few hours later, my mother and Primrose came home, Prim crying into my mother's chest.

"What happened?" I asked, taking Prim's bag from her.

"The school cut my work hours by half," my mother explained as Prim ran into my arms, burying her face in my chest.

"What?" This was bad news. We were barely making it as it was.

"I'm going to try to find another job, but it will take time. I don't think I can buy Primrose a dress." I tried to think.

"Well, maybe one of your friends could lend you another dress," I suggested. She shook her head.

"Rue is the only one I would ask, but this is her first dance too. She doesn't have one. She has to go buy one with her mom."

"Prim, stop crying," I pleaded, sitting her down on the bed. "The dance is a month away. We still have time to figure things out." Primrose nodded, but I could see the hopelessness. I hated that she couldn't even have something as simple as going to a dance. She was so excited.

That weekend, Gale and I went job hunting for me. I went to every place I could, hiring or not, and asked for an application, but I could tell by the way they sized me up that my application would end up in the trash. I didn't blame them. I was qualified for nothing and I looked like I dug myself out of a non-metaphorical hole with my bare hands.

The best I could do was hunt and with that, I fed my family. My father had given me this unique skill. I could go into the forest, which was filled with animals, and bring back squirrels and birds for my family to feed on. It was how Gale and I actually met. People of the Seam either made their own meat, or ate none at all. On a rare occasion, we could sell what we killed, but with modern technology, there were better ways markets could get fresh meat than a couple of teenagers with bows and snares.

On Monday after school, I came home to an empty house. Prim liked to stay after school with my mother and walk home with her when she was done her shift. I was so hungry, but there was barely anything for dinner, so I decided to wait. An hour later, my mom walked in.

"Where's Prim?" I asked.

"We ran into Peeta at the school and he offered to buy Prim ice cream and drop her off home. He wanted to drop me off, but I enjoy the walk too much."

"Peeta took Prim out?" I reiterated.

"Don't worry, Katniss. He really is such a nice boy." I rolled my eyes.

A few hours went by and I grew worried. How long did it take for this girl to get ice cream? My mother told me to stop worrying, but it only made me angry that she was not just as concerned.

"I'm home!" Prim announced as she came through the door carrying a shopping bag.

"Where have you been?" I looked out the window to see Peeta's car pull away.

"Peeta took me to go get ice cream at the mall."

"The mall?" I exclaimed.

"Yes, the mall. And he bought me this!" She pulled out a flowy green dress from the paper bag and held it up to show what she would look like wearing it.

"He bought you a dress?" I questioned.

"For the dance. He said I looked as beautiful as you in it!" I ignored the compliment.

"Mom, you're can't let her keep this."

"What? Why not? Mom?" My mother seemed very torn.

"Primrose, it's a very nice gesture, but we can't accept something like this. We hardly know him," she eventually agreed.

"But he bought it for me. He said it was a gift." She sighed.

"Mom! We're not a charity!" I argued.

"He's going to be my brother-in-law!" she whined.

"Don't say that like that really means anything!" Primrose gave my mom her lethal puppy eyes and I knew I lost this conversation.

"I don't think this is charity, Katniss. If he got this for her, he might consider it rude to refuse it." Prim stuck her tongue out at me and continued to admire herself with the dress. This was bull shit and I intended to tell Peeta what I thought of this gesture.

**jennibrolawrence19**** mentioned that the spacing of my previous chapters were kinda smooshed, so I'm working on fixing that. Hopefully I did better, so let me know!**

**I haven't been fanfic'ing too long with Hunger Games... so I'm a little behind on the vernacular. What does AU mean?**


	4. Happy Birthday, Dear Peeta

**Welcome new readers and thank you for everyone that has reviewed. I can't believe some of the things you guys say. You make writing fun!**

**This is one of my favorite chapters, and it's a little longer! :D I'm so excited for you guys to read it.**

Happy Birthday, Dear Peeta

Katniss

I had to be strategic of when to have this confrontation with Peeta. The seconds before class or passing him by in the halls didn't seem like the best setting. I remembered he told me on Tuesdays and Thursdays, he liked to run in the morning around the track at school, so I figured that was the best time. Since we didn't have a phone, I couldn't get a message to Gale to not come the following morning, so I planned to have this little discussion with him on Thursday. Until then, I threw all the ice I could at him from my cold shoulder. Thursday rolled around and I was off early to school.

I went to the track to find it empty. It'd be just my luck that this would be the day he didn't run. I tried the weight room and eventually considered perhaps I had missed him and decided to try my luck in the showers.

The door was unlocked, so I walked in. I heard the shower running and knew Peeta was here. I marched straight over to the showers. I was angry and he needed to know it. I rounded the corner to the showers and saw Peeta with his back turned to me. A low partition dividing the showers from the locker room blocked my view of his lower half, but I was too furious to be shy.

Before I could call out his name and tell him how offended I was that he thought money could solve our problems and that we weren't a lot to be pitied or overlooked, I saw his back. His back was _covered_ in bruises of all different colors, some fresh, some healing. I wouldn't have really noticed if I wasn't staring, but I could see subtle whip marks, about the thickness of a belt. I was about to turn to leave when my shoes made a squeak on the ground.

"Katniss?" Peeta cried when he turned around. "What are you doing here?" He instinctively covered his privates and scrambled around for a towel to cover himself. All I could do was blush and cover my eyes. I was so embarrassed and shocked of the whole thing that my feet had forgotten what to do. I heard the water shut off and footsteps coming towards me. "Why are you in the men's locker room?" My hands were still covering my eyes.

"I wanted to yell at you," I managed to squeak out.

"What? Why?"

"We're not charity," I said pathetically.

"Is this about the dress? Is that why you've been ignoring me?" I felt so small now. There was so much to him that he was dealing with that I hadn't realized and here I was yelling at him for showing kindness to my sister.

"Yes," I said bashfully. He took my hands off my eyes and peered down over me. He had a towel wrapped around his waist. He was a few inches taller than me. I didn't realize how handsome he really was, especially with the glow of the hot shower and his dripping wet hair. His body was big and muscular like a wrestler's. There were welts and marks on his chest and shoulders, too.

"I'm sorry I didn't run it by you first," he said. "I just wanted to do something nice for my soon-to-be sister-in-law.  
"I know. I'm sorry, I just.. I'm sorry. I just don't like being thought of as helpless." He put a hand on my cheek.

"Only an idiot would consider Katniss Everdeen helpless." He let go of my hands and took a step back. "I should get dressed." He slowly walked over to the lockers, leaving me awkwardly at the showers. I look around. There was still no one around, and I didn't want to wait by myself outside. I ever so gracefully traveled from wall to wall to find Peeta.

"You still there, Katniss?" he called out. Even with my hunter's feet, there was only so much I could do with my wet sneakers on a tiled floor in a resonate locker room. I was sitting with my back against the wall at around the corner of his aisle.

"I won't look, I promise," I responded. He laughed.

"You can look all you want." I scoffed at his joke. I heard clothes rustling.

"Peeta?"

"Hm?"

"Can I ask you about your back?" He didn't answer and I grew afraid I crossed a line. Just then I saw him standing beside me with his duffel bag.

"That... is a deep dark secret," he said smiling. "You'll find out soon enough. Come on. Bell's going to ring soon." He led me out of the men's locker room and walked me to my locker.

It was the day of Peeta's birthday dinner. Peeta arranged to have Madge pick Gale and me up from my house. Normally, I wouldn't let anybody come to my home, but I trusted Madge; she didn't seem like the type to judge my house. I bathed and dried my hair and now stood over a bed full of dresses. They were beautiful but old fashioned. I didn't ever compare my clothes to the others unless it was to say how ridiculous they were to put so much attention on their clothes, but now I found myself dreading a room full of well-dressed people with me as the odd one out. After many minutes, I decided to take a stand and wear what I thought Peeta would like. It was his birthday after all. I picked a dark blue dress that my mother wore on her first date with my father so many years ago. It was the reason she kept this and all the other dresses. They all had significance to her. My mother brushed and curled my hair in hot rollers that cooled to keep the shape of the curl. She put a little rouge on my lips and cheeks.

"Peeta is going to fall in love with you tonight," Primrose said beaming. I smiled at her. A few moments later Gale, dressed in a t-shirt, jeans, and a jacket was at our door and soon after, Madge was taking us to Peeta's home.

Peeta's home was beautiful with its dark red bricks with a beautiful black door. Madge reached for the lion head door knocker and knocked three times. Peeta opened the door within seconds.

"Oh hey guys, come on in." He was dressed in a clean polo shirt and khakis. He ushered the three of us in, taking our coats and telling us to make ourselves comfortable in the living room. There were a lot more people than I expected to be here. Everyone was mingling over hors d'oeuvres and ginger ale. Madge stayed close by, so we chatted with her about her family and her interest in dance lessons.

".. and try to have fun tonight, dear. Honestly, people are going to think I've raised a hermit." I turned to see a blond, short-haired woman wearing a short gold dress holding a glass of wine speaking to Peeta. She turned and left him, so he walked off somewhere else.

"Madge, who was that woman who was talking to Peeta?" I asked, possibly interrupting a story she was telling to Gale.

"That's Peeta's mother," she replied. I looked back at Peeta's mom. She seemed friendly enough, chatting up with guests, asking how everyone was doing and if they were enjoying themselves. She seemed busy keeping the night going smoothly, always with that glass of wine in her hand.

"Everyone, dinner will be served if you would like to take a seat in the dining room," Peeta's mother announced after some time. Slowly, people made their way into another room with a long decorated table set out.

The table was laden with roast beef, pork, chicken, and every vegetable I could think of. There were rolls and slices of all kinds of bread with butter and plates of salad. I could not believe this much food was here and wondered if all of us would be able to finish it. People started to sit. Before I could pull out my chair, Peeta was there pulling mine out with a wink and I took my seat while he pushed the chair back in. Gale took his place beside me. Peeta went around chatting with people before he took his own seat and began eating. The food was delicious and I had to remind myself to eat slowly to keep from looking like a beggar. Gale was less successful than I was, stuffing his face with every meat he could reach. At least his utensils were slowing him down.

"Would anyone care for more champagne?" Peeta's mom asked. She left before waiting for an answer, but you could tell from her slurred words and slightly ungraceful walk that she already had a little too much. A few moments later, Peeta followed her into the kitchen.

I kept looking towards the kitchen for him to come back, and realized that something was going on. Then I remembered the bruises in his back.

"I'll be right back," I told Gale. He watched me go and returned to eating. I made my way out of the dining room and down the hall to the kitchen.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Peeta's mother screamed.

"That's enough mom! You had two bottles already!" I heard Peeta shout. The sound of breaking glass sent my feet running to the kitchen and I saw Peeta on the floor surrounded by shattered brown glass with his head bleeding.

"So, this is the little bitch who is marrying my son," she says to me. "Should've known your father would pick such a low life for you." She grabbed an unopened bottle of champagne and staggered out of the kitchen. I grabbed a clean towel and ran to Peeta to dab the blood and check out the cut.

"It's not deep," I said examining the injury for stray glass. Wouldn't even need stitches. He didn't say anything, so I just put pressure on his head. He chuckled to himself.

"I'm okay," he said finally.

"What happened?"

"I'm okay."

"You're starting to sound like me," I commented humorously. He took my hand off and looked in the reflection of a silver tray to check out the cut.

"It's not bleeding anymore. Better wash your hands though. Don't worry about the mess. Maids are coming tonight." _Maids? His much money did a baker make? Oh yeah, that was the important part, Katniss._

No one seemed to notice our absence, engrossed in delight conversation. Peeta's mother was seated and regained her composure of being the perfect host. I couldn't say I was looking forward to living with her.

"Everything okay?" Gale asked when I got back. He had been chatting with Madge.

"Yeah. Had to find the ladies room." I looked over at Peeta. He was good at pretending everything was okay, which worried me.

People in black and white clothes came out and took away the plates and extra food. Then the lights dimmed. Peeta's father made an appearance, carrying out a small but beautifully decorated cake with 18 candles lit on it. Everyone broke out in the "Happy Birthday" song as Mr. Mellarck placed the cake in front of Peeta.

"Peeta! Smile for the picture!" Peeta's mom cried with her camera. Peeta smiled awkwardly. "Don't smile like that, you look like a walrus. Smile for me, baby." Everyone laughed at her comment, but I could see Peeta growing concerned and noticed him shoot a look at his father. "Peeta, do you even know how to smile? Why the hell are you so ugly?" Mr. Mellarck quietly approached his wife and started to lead her away. "I'm not leaving until I get a decent picture of my baby on his eighteenth birthday with his damn cake! Leave me the hell alone!" Mr. Mellarck took his hands off his wife, but both he and Peeta were not smiling anymore. "Peeta, what the hell is wrong with you? Smile!"

"Mom," he said.

"Oh, you are so fucking useless. Can't do a _single_ thing right." She wanted to keep going but Mr. Mellarck pushed her out more forcefully this time.

"Let's go," he said sternly.

"Let go of me!" she screamed as he continued to push her out. The room was silent when they exited and all eyes fell onto Peeta.

"Well," he said lightly. "So there's cake. I think it should be set up in the living room." He stood up. "You guys can head out over there, I'll go put this away." He got up and picked up the still lit cake. He unceremoniously blew them out as he left the table. I stood up and urged Gale, who was still stunned by the incident, to come with me. I hoped that if we started getting up, people would follow and things could get moving. Gale tapped Madge and Madge grabbed Glimmer. It worked and others starting making their way to the living room where all the cake was set up.

After about half an hour, people started saying their good byes and well wishes to Peeta and he saw them out.

"Can you stay?" Peeta asked me when I went to say good bye and happy birthday. I nodded and told Gale and Madge that Peeta needed help cleaning up and he would take me home.

"Be careful with him," Gale warned.

"I doubt tonight he's in the mood to try anything," I told him and hurried them off. The last car eventually pulled out and it was just me and Peeta standing in his driveway. He offered his hand and led me a little away from the house and we took a seat under a tree. He leaned back on it and sighed.

"I guess the dark secret's out," he said. I didn't know how to respond, so I said nothing. "It's not like people didn't know, but I guess this makes it official. It was inevitable; she's been getting worse. My mother is a crazy drunk."

"I think 'crazy' might be a little kind," I added. He laughed. He was holding a bottle of soda and took a drink. He stared off in the distance before speaking up. "I tried to break it, you know. The contract." His eyes met mine, probably to gauge my reaction. "I wouldn't you bring you into this house if there was another way. I'm sorry I couldn't do better." I put my hand on his face. I could see the cut where his mom had hit him with the soda bottle and the beginnings to a very dark bruise. I wanted to protect this lovable creature from all this, keep from pain while erasing the past. As of right now, the only thing I could do was make him feel better. Before I could talk myself out of it, I leaned closer to him, slowly so he knew it was coming. My lips touched his and I felt him stiffen, like sudden movements might scare me away. After a moment, I opened my mouth and began to massage his lips. He took my lead and kissed me back. I opened my eyes and saw his eyes shut tightly, taking in the kiss. It was my first, and I figured it was probably his first too. I pulled away after a minute or two.

"What was that for?" he whispered.

"I just.. wanted to do it." He smiled.

"You want to do it again?" I replied by leaning in and kissing him again, putting a hand on his chest. I felt his hand on my arms, holding me. We kissed for what seemed like hours until we both got thirsty. He gave me a drink of his soda and took a sip and we kissed some more. The more I kissed him, the more I wanted to kiss him. I had never felt like this before. Not with Gale, not with anyone.

"Do you like me?" he whispered when our final kiss ended.

"Yes."

"What happened on Saturday?" Gale asked me as we walked to school.

"He just explained... about his mom," I explained. He accepted that answer.

"I don't want you living in that house. And don't tell me you'll be fine, Katniss. That woman beats on her 200-pound kid. Don't think I don't know. He comes to school with bruises all the time. She's gonna end up killing you in your sleep."

"I can handle myself, Gale."

"Like you handled, Cato?" Shit. He knew about that? "What's with all these secrets now, Kat? We didn't used to be like this."

"What did you think it was going to be like?" I barked. "Whether it was now or after later, Peeta and I are going to get closer and there are going to be things I can't share with you!"

"Then why not make it later?" he shouted. "He gets to have you the rest of his life. Why can't I have you now?" I sighed and crossed my arms.

"You'd never let me go," I finally said. It sounded cocky, but I meant to point out his personality

"I promise, I will." He stopped walking. I stopped a few paces ahead him and looked back. "Be with me now, Kat. We'll say, after the dance, we'll break up, and I'll let you go." He seemed so sad and so desperate. I wondered what it would have been like if I wasn't engaged to Peeta, if Gale and I had a chance. I stepped closer to him.

"Until after the dance," I restated. He nodded and put a hand on my face.

"You'll be mine until then?"

"I'll be yours." He put his forehead on mine, his hand in the back of my neck. He bent lower and I feel his lips on mine. It was a sweet, yet aggressive kiss, but I liked it. He wrapped his arms around me and picked me up, still kissing me as he swung me around.

"You're mine, Katniss."

We walked hand in hand the rest of the way to school. Gale saw me to my class and gave me a kiss before I went in. The first thing I saw with his eyes glued to the door was Peeta. Peeta. I needed to explain.

"Okay," Mr. Abernathy started. "So announcements. Chess club meeting after school, stop throwing trash on the ground, Prom still next month. So redundant that they make me keep saying that. All right, we need partners for this lesson, so get to it." I usually just stayed where I was until everyone else was either partnered up so I got whoever was leftover or stuck in a group of three. Today was looking to be a group-of-three day.

"Everdeen, you're with Cartwright and Mellarck." Of course I was. I picked up my stuff and moved to a desk close by and turned it to face them.

"Hi Katniss," Delly greeted me cheerfully.

"Hi Delly," I said. I looked at Peeta but he kept his head down. Mr. Abernathy handed out a worksheet.

"So, the geography and culture of Panem," Delly started, but I wasn't listening. Peeta was right here and I needed to talk to him. I needed to explain.

"I can explain, Peeta," I blurt out.

"What's there to explain?" Peeta replied. Delly looked awkwardly at us.

"Well," she said to no one in particular as she wrote on the handout Mr. Abernathy had passed out, "we're surrounded by mountains on the north, so that affects our climate."

"I have history with Gale."

"And since we're inland, the ocean shouldn't affect our culture too much. Maybe as a source for water."

"We're only seeing each other until after the dance, then it's done."

"So because the climate varies so much, we obviously have to adapt to the weather with our clothes and shelter."

"Until you have to switch over your feelings _back_ to me."

"We're surrounded by acres of forests, so that supports our food and lumber needs."

"That's a rather convenient heart you have to kiss me yesterday, and then go out with him, and then marry me."

"It's not like you wanted this marriage either. I didn't choose this."

"I'm very aware that you didn't."

"So to sum up, the mountains, surrounding land, and forests are the geographical factors that contribute to our culture."

"I'm sorry," I said. He started to sketch something in his notebook without saying anything to me while Delly covered her face with the paper.

Saturday, Gale and I headed to our woods. Hunting became more difficult and less efficient since all he wanted to do was kiss me. I always gave in because it made him so happy. Eventually, I grew annoyed since we really needed to make up for my mom not working as much. So Gale would set twice as many snares and we'd hide and wait. So he'd want to kiss more.

I tried to reconcile with Peeta, but it was futile. He didn't come to take me home on Thursdays anymore and he stopped running in the mornings. I noticed I stopped seeing him in the halls and figured he started to take a roundabout route to get to his classes. It was purely by chance that I had forgotten my textbook in my locker and Mr. Beetee allowed me to get it from my locker. I was on my way back to class when I saw Peeta stepping out of the bathroom.

"Peeta," I called. We were 5 feet away from each other, but it could've been an ocean between us. He stood there for a moment, and then walked towards me. I got excited that he might be willing to speak to me until he walked right past me. "Peeta," I pleaded, jumping in front of her and held his arms to force him to look at me. "Please talk to me." There was hurt and anger in his eyes.

"What can I say?" he asked me.

"Can't we be friends?"

"No, we can't," he retorted.

"Why not?" I demanded.

"Because you broke my heart!" He shook me off his arms and stepped back. "You broke my heart, Katniss."

"I don't want to lose you."

"You can't," he said with an injured laugh. "We're contracted, remember? You can do your thing with Gale and then you're stuck with me forever." He started to walk backwards away from me. "But I shouldn't be upset, right? You didn't choose any of this. Neither did I, I guess. But what I felt for you, Katniss, was my choice." I noted the past tense. He turned, and I couldn't say his name. The boy who gave me his book and took my hits, who drove me home and shared with me his secrets. I threw it away for what seemed like nothing now.

**Ohh.. aren't I evil? How can this be fixed? Hmm.. **

**Next fanfiction question: What does SYOT mean?**


	5. Prom Night

**Okay... so lots of... reactions to the whole Gale/Katniss thing. Went up 18 reviews for that last chapter! Well you can't expect me to just not use that obvious bump in the road, right? But I'm so glad that you guys are loving my story. Anyway, on with the show!**

Prom Night

Katniss

I felt terrible about Peeta. A piece of me questioned my humanness if I was able to do this to someone like him. But I deserved happiness, too, didn't I? I loved being with Gale. We had so much in common growing up in the same part of our district and hunting to provide for our families. He knew me in a way no one else could, because we had so much of each other in us. Despite my guilt for Peeta, I let myself become attached to Gale.

We got especially close when we hunted. We talked like we always did, except he would confess to me that he had loved me long before asked me out a few years ago. But he was a guy, and guys had needs. He admitted to me that he had been with other girls. He was never in a real relationship, so he didn't feel it was important to share them with me before, and that wasn't a topic we would have been comfortable talking about anyway. So when his kisses trailed under my shirt or he tried to slide his hand into my underwear, I resisted but gave in a little more each time, knowing that he would not get what he really wanted with me. At least I was able to give him a little bit.

Every day, Gale and I grew more comfortable with each other. We'd hold hands on the way to school and give little kisses to say hello and bye. I would lie on his lap at lunch and give him hugs for no reason. I really liked Gale, and it felt nice to know how much he liked me. I was going to miss him when the reality of our world kicked in. As happy as I was with Gale, it broke my heart that Peeta and I were no longer friends. He would look straight ahead if by chance I saw him at school and kept his head down in class. I had hoped that time would eventually restore at least some eye contact, but when two months rolled by, I gave up that kind of hope.

The day of the dance came. Prim could not stop talking about it since Peeta had bought her the dress. I had planned to wear a brown number from my mother's collection. It was nowhere near as pretty as Prim's, but it would do. At 3:00, there was a knock at the door.

"Gale," my mother greeted him when she answered the door. "Come in, come in." He smiled politely and came in, carrying a paper bag.

"I just wanted to drop this off for you," he said, giving me the bag. I looked at him suspiciously as he handed it to me and went to the kitchen to open it. I took out a beautiful long black silky dress with a long slit to the side of the front of the dress.

"I won't tell you where I got it, but my mom fixed it up, tailored it, put the beads on. I thought it'd look nice on you. It's not stolen, I swear." He gave me his goofy grin.

"It's beautiful," I said, completely moved.

"You make the dress beautiful." He ran the backs of his finger down my face. "I'll see you at 6, ok?"

"Okay. And thank you, Gale." He left and my mom gave me a worried look but chose not to say anything.

"I won't be home when you get here; I'm starting my new job at the clinic so I'll be gone all night. Make sure you put Prim to sleep and stay with her till I come home."

"Okay, Mom." My mom did my hair in curls and pulled half of it back. Prim kept hers straight, but put it up in an intricate bun with bobby pins. My mother put rouge on our lips and cheeks and gave us a kiss before leaving for work. Gale was prompt and the three of us walked to school.

Prim found her friends and her date and left us. Primrose was invited to an afterparty at Rue's, so my mom had talked to Rue's mom to have her dropped off at home which meant I wouldn't see her the rest of the night. The auditorium turned into a dark and smoky music box. People were jumping and dancing like no tomorrow. Gale and I got excited and jumped right into the dancing right away. The people at the Seam weren't known for many talents, but we knew how to dance. It was a blast. It was so dark and crowded that I could only see Gale in front of me. I didn't even realize how close we were dancing until I felt his hands on my lower back, his pelvis grinding so hard into mine I could literally feel his excitement. We enjoyed the refreshments, took our pictures, and danced some more. When the room grew hot and us tired, Gale led me out.

We ran out into the field, laughing. Gale had undid his tie and a few of his shirt buttons while I had taken my shoes off. Gale pulled me closer to him and kissed me, wrapping his arms around me.

"Come on." He led me out to the seclusion of the bleachers of the football field. The grass was soft and the sky dark. Gale sat down under the bleachers and pulled me down to sit beside him. He kissed me aggressively, a hand on my neck. His lips moved down to my neck, kissing and licking the sensitive skin there, laying me down on the cool grass. He slid the straps off my shoulders, using his hands to elevate me slightly to continue exploring towards the back of my neck with his lips. He gently lay me down and made his way to my bra and tugged at my bra with a finger until my breasts were completely exposed to him. We had never seen each other naked and it made me nervous that he was staring so intently at me. Keeping his eyes on me, he bent down and grazed my nipple with his tongue, causing me to inhale sharply and throw my head back. A hand slid into the slit of the dress and felt his way up my inner thigh until he was just outside of my panties. He rubbed and prodded before slipping a finger inside the fabric. This was as far as we had ever gone before and I grew nervous. His finger moved in circles at my opening and I could feel how slick my juices were making his finger.

"Do you love me, Katniss," he asked me as he suckled and bit my nipple.

"Mm.." I moaned.

"I wanna be with you, Katniss," he whispered. He switched over to the other nipple while his hand slowly slid a finger inside me. I kept my eyes closed. I heard him shuffle around a bit I assume to make himself more comfortable. He moved his finger in and out of me and he breathing became erratic. "Katniss," he breathed as his hot breath moved up and over my collarbone. "Do you trust me?" The question threw me off. I opened my eyes and was more than shocked to see Gale's pants and boxers at his knees, his other hand propping himself up as he stroked himself. I had never seen that part of a man before and it scared the hell out of me.

"Gale, we should stop," I whispered, sitting up.

"You want to be with me, right Katniss?" he asked inches away from my face, pressuring me to lay back down. "I love you so much. I'm almost ready. It'll be quick. I promise."

"Gale, what are you doing?" I shouted, pushing him back, but he didn't move.

"It's the only way we can be together, Katniss. We have to do this."

"What are you talking about?"

"If you're pregnant, the contract will be broken."

"Pregnant? Have you lost your mind? Get off of me!" But he didn't. He pushed me down and kissed me hard. I could hear the tear in the dress before I felt the draft. The left strap of the dress tore when I struggled to pull it up. He tore the dress further at the slit until he was able to hike it up enough to pull down my panties.

"I'm sorry. It's the only way. I'm sorry," he said as he continued his assault. I started to scream, but he covered my mouth with his calloused hands, his body laid across mine so that my struggling was useless under his body weight. I started to hit him with my hands. He took his hand off my mouth, his other busy ripping off my panties, and wrapped his arm around my back, holding both arms. "Gale, stop! Please!" I cried, but he was too determined. He was at my entrance. With every fiber of my being, I screamed.

Peeta

I had never planned to go to the Prom. I had a small hope when Katniss and I started talking, but I found out she was going with Hawthorne, so I decided to forego the dance altogether. Good thing too; even if I had gone stag, I couldn't watch her and Gale together. A few girls had asked me, but I wasn't interested unless it was Katniss who asked. I was a terrible dancer, anyway.

I regretted staying in. It was my fault this time. I should've know better. I didn't even see her drinking this time, but I should've known my mother better than that. I had forgotten my backpack downstairs and crossed the living room to get it.

"I thought I told you not to leave your filthy shit lying around, boy," she said from the couch.

"I just forgot it here," I said defensively. I knew it was too late. I was already targeted. She stood up slowly. I knew I had to stay to take it. It always made things worse when I resisted. At least I was bigger now, so all she could do was hit me, if that was the better alternative. When I was younger and smaller than most, she used to lock me in dark places or hold me under water. She was always careful enough not to send me to the hospital.

I braced myself. She always aimed for the head. She slapped me hard, and when she wasn't satisfied with my reaction to it, she slapped me again before grabbing the closest thing to her, the fire poker, and struck my neck with that. I was on the ground struggling to breath and she swung at my back a few times until I was winded and writhing in pain. She was satisfied and left me with her weapon before taking off for upstairs. When the pain subsided, I caught my breath then checked for blood. I grabbed my bag and hopped into my car.

I drove in circles, not really going anywhere. I drove past the school just because it was a road I was familiar with. I saw a girl in a fancy dress walking barefoot on the sidewalk just outside of school. I figured she was coming out of the dance and her feet were killing her. It took me a second glance to recognize her. I quickly pulled over just ahead of her and got out of my car to run up to her.

"Katniss!" I called. She was clutching herself and I could see the dress was torn so high, she had to hold it closed. "What happened?" She continued to stare ahead until she broke down in tears. I caught her before she fell to the floor and cradled her as she sobbed. Neither of us said anything; she just cried. When she calmed down a bit, I carried her into the car and put her seatbelt on for her and drove her home. At some point, she pulled out her house key out of a little pouch she had on her wrist and played with it. As soon as I pulled in to her house, she started to sob again. I took her key and opened the door to her house before carrying her inside.

I sat down on her bed in the living room and cradled her while she cried. I realized she was still clutching her torn dress so I wrapped a thin blanket around her. Apparently though, this reminded her of her attire and she stood up, stripping in front of me.

"Get it off," she sobbed. "Get me out of this." I went behind her, unzipped the dress quickly, and slipped the remaining strap off her shoulder while she pulled it down to step out of it. I kept my eyes away from her and started looking through her drawers for something she could put on and tossed her some sweats and a t-shirt. I stayed turned around until I heard her crawl back under the covers. I pulled up a chair closer to her head. The torn dress told me all I needed to know what happened to her.

"Who did this to you?" I asked, keeping my voice low. A new round of tears gave me my answer.  
Not too long after, there was a knock at the door. I saw the fear in Katniss' eyes and gestured to her to stay put. I opened the door to see Gale and stepped out, closing the door behind me.

Without saying anything, I punched the sick fuck in the cheek and again in the eye pushing him back farther away from the house before he ran to tackle me onto the ground. As a basketball player, he was fast, but I knew how to block a tackle. I threw him to the ground, but he got up too quick and got me on the nose and cheek. He grabbed my neck and tried to wrestle me to the ground, so I went for his balls. I hit his head and he upper cut my jaw and got me again on the cheek so hard I could taste the blood. I went for his stomach until he was winded and struggling to breathe on the ground. I stayed defensive, but I stopped attacking.

"It's your fault!" he shouted at me clutching his stomach crouched on the ground. "You and that fucking contract!"

"This was all about the contract?" I screamed. I wanted to rip his heart out and I would have if I could feel my hands. "This wasn't the deal, Hawthorne. What the hell is wrong with you? I thought not hurting her was implied."

"She belongs with me!"

"Why the hell is her dress ripped? Why are there bruises on her arms? You need to leave. And stay the fuck away from my fiancé." I stormed back in and shut the door behind me. I almost forgot about my bloody face until I saw her reaction to me coming in.

"You should see him," I said smiling and quickly ran to the kitchen to wipe my face and wash my hands. I looked for something cold, but the best I could do was wet paper towel. When I returned, she was out of bed and took the paper towel from me. She sat down beside me on the bed and held it to my eye.

"I'm sorry," she said crying again.

"I'm sorry, for what he did to you." She shook her head.

"He didn't do anything. But he tried. I screamed and he let me go." She moved the paper towel to cover another area when she noticed my neck. I had seen it through the mirror earlier, a straight-line bruise from when my mother whacked me with the fire poker. "Oh, Peeta." Her eyes began to well up. I took the hand that examined the bruise and held it.

"It looks worse than it is," I said.

"Aren't there laws about hurting children?"

"No one can touch my mother. Trust me." I made her sit and put down the paper towel that was probably doing very little anyway.

"What deal?" she asked. I didn't realize she had heard that part. I sighed.

"Gale asked me a copy of the contract to find a loophole. I had no idea.." I broke off when I realized my role in what happened to her. "I'm so sorry." She shook her head.

"Please don't think like that," she said. I took her hand in two of mind.

"I missed you," she said, looking down at our hands. I felt bad for how I handled her relationship with Gale. I had no claim to her; she should be with who she wanted.

"I missed you, too." I bent down and kissed the palm of her right hand. "You should sleep." It was late. Her sister would be home soon and her mom could walk in at any minute.

"I don't want to be alone," she said.

"Your mom will be home soon."

"She got a new job. She works nights at a clinic Thursday to Sunday."

"Okay, I'll stay." I tucked her in and sat on her bed, stroking her hair and rubbing her back until she drifted off. I leaned back to my chair, watching her sleep. She mumbled and made angry faces in her slumber. I picked up the dress and examined it. I couldn't even think about what he did or didn't do to her lest I continue the brawl that never ended with Gale. I went outside to throw the dress out and came back to watch her sleep.

Around midnight, I heard the door open and put my finger to my lips when Primrose walked in. She looked so happy coming from the dance, wearing the dress I had bought her to get Katniss' attention. I stood up and walked to the door.

"Have fun?" I asked. She nodded.

"I played 'Spin the Bottle' at Rue's party for the first time."

"Sam was a perfect gentleman?"

"He kissed me on the cheek when he pointed the bottle at me." I smiled.

"I'm glad you had fun. Have a good night." I closed the door behind me and left for home.

**So Gale made a bad move, eh? But Peeta's no consolation prize. What's she gonna do? Oh no...**

**This chapter was extremely difficult for me to write. I just needed Gale to do something diabolical to get him out of Katniss' head. So I did my best. Let me know what you think!**

**And ****singingequestrian89 has informed me they're trying to get rid of M-rated stories...so my story might get deleted! WTF? I haven't even gone into the good parts yet! I love reading and writing M because I feel like it's adults writing for adults. (Technicaly I could just rewrite this story a bit to not be so M... but where's the fun in that?) I've already signed the petition to stop this, so you guys sign to if you want good stories to stay around on fan fiction. I know other people are posting their stories on other sites, but I probably won't because this is the only site I use to write. Please sign the petition!**

**www(dot)change(dot)org/petitions/fanfiction-net-stop-the-destruction-of-fanfiction-net**


	6. Space

**Your reviews have been amazing and I'm so glad so many of you responded so positively to the previous chapter. I obviously wanted to do that so I could get Gale outta there and he wouldn't see him as a threat to their relationship anymore... because mine isn't that kinda story. They got other fish to fry. So here is your reward!**

Space

Katniss

I was a ball of depression the whole weekend. Gale trying to rape me, Peeta getting into a fight for me, Peeta being hit by his mother; it was all too much. Needless to say, I didn't see Gale, and he didn't come to walk me to school. I told my mother and Prim that we got into a fight and I wanted to stay away from him for Peeta's sake. They didn't question me.

Peeta stayed away from me, too, at school. I was hoping he'd stop and talk to me, but I guessed things went back to the they were with us. He was still upset that I had betrayed him, and he had every right to be. What kind of person kisses someone and confesses she likes him, only to go out with someone else the next day? I didn't deserve him.

I sat alone under a tree across the field away from the school. I wouldn't return to the tree I had normally sat at with Gale or anywhere near it. My lunch was hardly food, never mind filling. I had packed the remaining squirrel meat and bread of our supply in Prim's lunch.

"Can I sit here?" I looked up to see Madge Undersee, the mayor's daughter. I was very confused as to why she would want to sit with me. The tree was nowhere near a convenient spot for her, and we never really spoke. But she did come all the way down here and I didn't necessarily need to be alone.

"Uh, sure." She smiled and took a seat in front of me and opened her lunch bag. Just the smell of the open bag was enough to make me cry. She pulled out a sandwich and handed it to me.

"I'm okay, I already ate," I lied. I was still holding my stale bread crumbs in my hand.

"It's not from me," she said, smiling. I hesitantly took the sandwich because there was no way I could politely refuse it. I knew she was good friends with Peeta.

"Thank you," I said.

"I'm just the messenger." I supposed that was why she was here, to deliver a sandwich and then stayed because it was polite. "He misses you, you know."

"I know," I say after swallowing an impolitely huge bite of the succulent roast beef sandwich.

"He just thinks you're not over Gale, so he doesn't want to make things complicated for you." I swallowed another bite.

"Did he tell you to say these things to me?" She smiled.

"A girl knows what a guy's secret should be. This shouldn't be one of them." She paused for a minute as if battling herself to ask the next question. "Are you? Over Gale?"

"Gale and I are done."

"That doesn't mean you're over him."

"It does for me." She dropped the topic and continued to eat, which unfortunately gave me time to think. Was I over Gale? I missed him terribly. He was the best hunting partner and my best friend for 6 years. And the way he looked at me and the he made me feel when he kissed me... Crap.. They were right. I wasn't over him. How could I be? What I lost that day was more than my boyfriend... I lost my best friend, possibly my only

"So Mr. Beetee is going to have another science project," she said, interrupting my thoughts. "You want to be partners?" I almost forgot she was in my class.

"Oh. Um, okay," I stutter.

"I'll make sure to save you a seat in science so we can sit together.

Madge turned out to be a very nice companion. She was friendly, but not bubbly like Glimmer, and she was smart and patient, so she took the time to explain things to me when I drew up blank. Mr. Beetee wanted us to create our own circuit board to make certain parts of a board light up with the flip of a switch. Madge didn't complain that she would have to be the one to buy all of the parts for the project and even insisted that I go with her to get them.

Everyday, she came by with a sandwich from Peeta and would chat with me about the project. She told me about herself and her family, too. She was a middle child, her oldest sister married to a guy in the Capitol and her youngest brother was betrothed to a family friend. So she was familiar with the process and the expectations.

My mom and Peeta's parents apparently had been meeting to arrange and plan the wedding. They set the date a few weeks after my birthday and reserved a big hall for the ceremony and banquet. Madge took me once to just look at wedding dresses, but I couldn't bring myself to try on a single one. They were all so... someone else. As patient as she was, Madge eventually grew tired of me saying "no".

Greasy Sae, a kind elderly neighbor who sometimes brought us food even though she had less than we did, was at our door one day. She was a short, stout woman bundled in her tattered clothes.

"Sae, won't you come in?" my mom greeted her.

"Thank you, mum," she said in her thick Seam accent as she wobbled in. "Just wanted to drop this off." She handed me a package. I opened it to find a cream lace dress.

"Oh, Sae," my mom almost gasped.

"Not from me, mum. At least not most of it. I'm just the deliverer. That boy took a collection from us Seam folks to pitch in for your wedding present to buy it. Dress belonged to that friend of yours who got married a few years back. Leevy. Her wedding dress. You know, in my days, it was good luck to wear a consigned dress. Nice that the money stays in the Seam. She can feed 'em twins of hers. You can wear it for what you like if not the wedding, a dress is a dress."

"Thank you, Sae," I said.

"Well, I must be off. I will see you folks soon." She heads out the door. I remembered something she said and caught her as she left.

"What boy?" I shouted. "Took the collection?"

"One of Hazelle's boys. Gale."

"How is he?"

"Last I heard he's gone to the Capitol. To play bussetbull, or something."

"Basketball," I corrected her.

"Or something she added. "Left yesterday. Yer little sister didn't mention it?" I shook my head. "Surprised you didn't know seeing how close y'all were. Not my business though." She started to walk off. "My business is them chickens I'm trying to have babies. Get some protein in our blood. Have a good night." She was already a fair distance when I said good bye. I went back inside and looked at the dress. It was perfect.

Since Gale was gone, I reclaimed our old tree at lunchtime. Madge started bringing Delly and Annie to sit with us. Though we weren't close knit, I realized they were all pleasant company. They talked a lot, but no one seemed to mind that I said little. I found myself looking in Peeta's direction when I zoned out.

"You should just talk to him," Madge said, bringing me back to reality. She was biting into half of a cob of corn. "He won't talk first. He thinks you need space."

"What if he's right?"

"Then you're going to have one awkward marriage."

The problem with rekindling a relationship is opportunity. I couldn't just stop him in the halls and strike up a conversation and lunch would be awkward with everyone there. I didn't have a phone so I couldn't just call. So I decided to stop by his home. At worst, he'd just slam the door in my face, but I was certain he wouldn't do that. Most likely, he'd say he was busy, and I was okay with that.

Friday night, I worked up the courage to just go. It was a lengthy walk, but I found his place easily enough. I paced his doorstep before finally talking myself into knocking on the door. I heard a child screaming and crying and considered if I was at the wrong house.

"Katniss," Peeta greeted me when he opened the door carrying a crying child.

"Oh, this is a bad time. I'm sorry. I should've.."

"No, no, it's fine. Come on in. I'm just babysitting my niece and nephew." He led me inside, the child still crying. Peeta reached down into the sofa and pulled out a toy train and gave it to the kid who stopped crying immediately. "Go play, Teban." He looked about 3. A girl about 5 years old was drawing at the coffee table with pastels.

"Uncle Peeta! Look!" Peeta took the drawing.

"You're getting so good, Avril. You're gonna be better than me soon." He gave the picture back to her and she continued to add on to an already beautiful picture. "Avril, this is my friend, Katniss. Katniss, my niece, Avrill." Avril put her pastel crayon down and stuck out her hand. I shook it, impressed by her maturity.

"Nice to meet you, Avril."

"Nice to meet you. Are you Uncle Peeta's girlfriend?" she giggled.

"She's my fiancé," Peeta chimed in.

"Oh. Like Markis?" she asked him. I guessed they already contracted her someone.

"Yes. Like Markis."

"I don't like Markis. He hits me."

"Because you bite him. And you tell Uncle Peeta next time he does that and I'll have a little talk with Markis," Peeta said with a wink to me. He took led me to the kitchen and pulled out a soda from the fridge, opened it and handed to me. I guess I looked flushed from my walk.

"So you wanted to talk to me?" he asked before taking a sip of his own drink. He pointed to a chair and I sat down before he joined me.

"Well, nothing in particular," I start. "I just... I just..."

"It's okay, Katniss. I know why you're here," he said meekly. "I wasn't trying to _not_ talk to you. I was just trying to give you..."

"Some space," I said finished for him. He played with his Coke can before answering and sighed.

"I shouldn't have given him the contract, Katniss," he started. "It was my fault... "

"It was his fault," I said putting my hands on his. I realized seconds later what I was doing and retracted them. "I'm sorry, Peeta."

"Don't be." We sat there in silence, drinking our soda. "Do you remember when we first met?" he asked. "It was the Signing of the Contract. The ceremonial one with our families after our parents signed the initial one. We were five and your mom dressed you up in this red dress and matching shoes. I was so shy I hid behind my mom the whole time, but you stood there like you owned the place. I thought you were the most beautiful girl in the world. My dad told me I was going to marry you and that someday you'd be mine." He paused and laughed at himself. "I remember falling in love with you that day and ever since then, I felt this claim on you. Even though we never talked and other guys approached you, I just told myself that one day, you'd be mine." He smiled as he told this story, but then it slowly faded. "I guess this whole thing with Gale made me realize that you may never be." He took a drink of his soda. "Do you still think about him?"

"All the time," I answered truthfully. He just nodded. "Not in the way you think. I keep thinking about why I went out with him in the first place. He was my best friend, you know? I knew how he felt about me, and I knew every time I resisted him, I lost a small piece of him. I just wanted to make him happy." Peeta's eyes were cast down, and he just nodded. I wasn't sure if my explanation helped or hurt things. How were we going to fix this?

"We'll be okay, Katniss. Give it time, we'll be okay." I nodded, not sure if either of us were really convinced of that. But at least there was hope. Thankfully, time was what we had since we were getting married in a few months.

"Uncle Peeta! Uncle Peeta! Something's wrong with Teban!" cried Avril as she ran into the kitchen. Peeta's expression turned into concern and we rushed to the living room where he had left his niece and nephew. Teban was lying on the floor, completely still.

"What happened, Avril?" he demanded from his niece.

"He was trying to eat the grapes. I told him not to." I look over at the coffee table and saw a bowl of rubber fruit. The boy's face was beginning to turn a pale blue.

"Get the phone, Avril." While he commanded her, I instinctively bent over the young child and checked for breathing and a pulse. I plugged his nose and blew into his mouth. My father did this to my sister one time when he tried to teach her to swim. I wasn't sure if it was okay if the grape was lodged in his throat, but I had nothing else. I blew gently, hoping that I wouldn't make things worse. When I saw his stomach rise with my breath, I checked inside his mouth. The grape had popped out of his tiny throat and was within my reach. I scooped it out and continued. I didn't know what Peeta and Avril were doing, all I saw was Prim unconscious by the lake and my father in all of his power helpless until she coughed up the water.

I thought it was wishful thinking when I heard the child gasping and heaving. He turned on his side and coughed and I let him. When he started to cry, Peeta picked him up and held to him tightly, Avril crying and hugging him too. The ambulance came moments later. They came and checked his eyes and put him on a stretcher. I hoped there wasn't any brain damage; we couldn't tell them how long he was unconscious.

"Can you stay with him?" Peeta asked me. "I'll follow with Avril in the car." I nodded, only wanting to ease the panic in Peeta's eyes.

I stepped into the ambulance with Teban. He was still crying and struggling to sit up so I took his hand. The paramedics were trying to keep him still so I tried to soothe him.

"It's okay, Teban, Uncle Peeta is coming," I told him.

"I want Mommy," he cried. At least he wasn't struggling anymore.

"Uncle Peeta is calling them. You'll see them soon, okay?"

"Mommy!" he kept crying. He sobbed and grabbed onto my shirt. I hovered over him in an awkward hug, my sshs and words useless. I hummed a tune, and he started to calm down. I had nothing else, so I started to sing the only song I could think of.

_Deep in the meadow, under the willow__  
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow__  
Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes__  
And when again they open, the sun will rise._

He just stared at me with neither screams nor a smile as I sang. So I continued the lullaby.__

Here it's safe, here it's warm_  
Here the daisies guard you from every harm__  
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true__  
Here is the place where I love you.___

Deep in the meadow, hidden far away_  
A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray__  
Forget your woes and let your troubles lay__  
And when again it's morning, they'll wash away._

_Here it's safe, here it's warm__  
Here the daisies guard you from every harm__  
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true__  
Here is the place where I love you.__  
__  
_ By the time I finished the song, we arrived at the hospital and he was quickly pulled out. Peeta came with Avril shortly after.

"He's my nephew. They're staying with me this weekend. His parents are coming in on the next train," Peeta told the desk clerk at the hospital. He filled out some papers and we waited. I took his hand, which he squeezed gently. Avril fell asleep in Peeta's lap. He had to wake her when the doctor came.

"Mr. Mellarck? You can come see your nephew now." The doctor looked at me. "One guest at a time except for family."

"She's my.."

"It's okay, Peeta," I interrupted. "I'll wait here for you." It seemed like a family affair, one that I had no right to be a part of just yet. He nodded, probably because arguing would delay him seeing his nephew. He took Avril and left.

They were gone a long time and I grew worried that something may have happened. I stood up when Peeta came out with his niece, forcing myself not to run to him. He looked so sad. He walked up to me and, without warning, kissed me on the mouth. His hands wrapped around my head and he pulled me closer to him. I felt like the kiss lasted forever and I didn't want it to stop. When he pulled away, I noticed Avril covering her eyes with her hands.

"You saved him," he said to me. "They said if it were seconds too late, there would be brain damage, but he's responding to all their tests, aside from the shock and crying. You saved him, Katniss." He kissed me again, and again I saw Avril cover her eyes.

"Ew.." Avril whined. Peeta pulled away laughing.

"You want to kiss her too? She saved your brother," he said, his eyes not leaving me.

"Do I have to?" she asked nervously with a smile.

"Will you settle for a hug?" he asked me. Avril gave me a strong one. She was such a sweet thing; it wasn't hard to believe she could come from his family.

It was around 10:00 when Peeta put Avril to sleep. The hospital wanted to keep Teban for the night to observe him.

"What time do you have to go home?" Peeta asked.

"My mom's working tonight and Prim is sleeping over at her friend Rue's place," I told him.

"You must be hungry," he said as he led me to the kitchen. Peeta cooked up some pasta and meat sauce with vegetables for both of us. I couldn't believe how good it tasted, and I was on seconds before Peeta even sat down.

"I wasn't lying," I told him. "That night. I meant it."

"I know. I always knew what you and Gale had was inevitable. It was stupid of me to think I would stop it."

It was past midnight when I looked up at the clock. We had talked the night away.

"I should head home," I said finally.

"I'll take you," he offered.

"What about that pretty girl you have upstairs?" He laughed.

"Oh yeah. Stay then."

"Sleep here?"

"My parents are at the Capitol for my father's business. You don't have Prim tonight, and I can't let you walk home this late." I had to admit, I wasn't looking forward to the walk home.

"Where would I sleep?" I asked him suspiciously.

"There's always my room." I rolled my eyes. Typical guy. "Our room is almost ready if you want to break it in."

"Our room?" I questioned.

"My parents made up a room for us for when we get married. It's bigger than my room. Probably smells nicer too."

"I like the way you smell."

"Like I said, you're always welcome in my room." He got up and held out a hand for me and led me upstairs. He opened the door to a white-walled room with a bed covered in a chocolate colored bed spread. It seemed very welcoming for a new couple. A large sheet was covering one of the walls, but I thought nothing of it.

"It's nice," I told him.

"We get our own bathroom through that door," he pointed to the door just past the bed, "and my room is down the hall, last door on the right," he informed me. I brushed my teeth with a spare he had and extra clothes were on the bed by the time I was done showering. Based on the size, I guess he gave me his clothes. I decided to just wear the t-shirt since the shorts weren't even trying to stay up.

I couldn't sleep. Maybe it was because I wasn't familiar with this house or the excitement of the day, or I was more sleep-dependent on Prim than I realized, but I wasn't sleeping. I sat up in the enormous bed. The bed was comfortable enough, softer than my bed at home but not too soft. Roomier too. Perhaps that was my problem. I hadn't slept alone since Primrose was born. I looked towards the door. Peeta _did_ say I was welcome in his room. I was sure he wouldn't mind if I snuck in. He sure joked about it enough. I quickly got up, tiptoed across the hall and cracked open the door. His bed was smaller than the one I was sleeping in, but larger than the one Prim and I shared. His back was turned to me and, he was out like a light. I quietly closed the door behind me and snuck under his covers.

**Yay for Peeta! I wonder what he'll think about their sleeping arrangement.. hmm...? Tell me what you guys think! **


	7. What Dreams May Come

**Okay... I know I've been bad. And many of you have threatened to stop reading my story if I don't update so I wanted to update as soon as I could. I just moved from one city to another and I haven't had Internet at my new place for a few weeks. I won't get it until next week, so I am illegally going online at work to send it to you guys! Also, as a reward for your patience, I will post THREE chapters this week! Thank you all for continuing to read my story and for your wonderful words!**

**And this is also where the M rating is coming into play. :D**

What Dreams May Come

Peeta

_ "Ugh... don't stop Peeta!" Katniss screamed as I pumped her with my dick, squeezing and biting her nipples. We were dripping with sweat, my thighs burning from keeping my weight hovering over her, but I had no intention of slowing down yet. I felt her tremble beneath me as she screamed into an orgasm._

_ She rolled us over so that she was on top of me and sat up, whipping her long gorgeous hair, giving me a seductive, animalistic look. Her hips moved as she danced while she pulled on her own nipples. I grabbed her hips and aided her movements so that they were harder and faster as she rode me. Then she grabbed my wrists and held them over my head, leaning over my face with a look of domination as she continued to ride me._

_ "Fuck, Katniss! I'm cumming!" I shot my load inside of her, allowing the walls of her pussy to milk my cock dry of its cream. She fell beside me and I rolled over to my side to face her, our lips barely touching._

I opened my eyes and there she was. Katniss Everdeen was in my bed, our faces so close I could feel her soft breathing as she slept in almost the exact position I had left her in my dream. Before I had time to react and move away, her eyes opened. I froze, unable to break away from the mystic gaze she held me in, our lips so close, I literally felt electricity between them.

Without a word or hardly any movement, she kissed me. A kiss so soft, I kept my eyes open to make sure I wasn't dreaming. My cock was so hard from my dream, I was afraid she'd notice and did my best to keep my hips away from her. We stared into each other's eyes for a second or two before my eyes fell shut and gave into the feeling of her perfect lips, letting my body conform with hers. My cock twitched and I knew she felt it. She broke away from the kiss and jumped back a bit. _Shit. She's going to run now._ I wanted to hide from embarrassment.

Then her hand pushed on my dick. I closed my eyes as the subtle pressure from her hand sent waves of pleasure through my body. It was the first time anybody (other than myself) had touched me there like this. Her hand slowly moved up and down outside of my boxer shorts. I opened my eyes, needed physical confirmation that Katniss Everdeen was actually stroking me. Her other hand tugged down on my shorts so that they rested on my upper thigh while the other wrapped itself around my aching member. My breathing changed and grew heavy. I wanted to close my eyes and enjoy the sensations, but I wanted to see Katniss stroking me.

Both of us were staring at her hand on my rod, watching my head poke out of her grip before shrinking back in. I started to involuntarily whimper, my hips fucking her hand as she gripped me tighter and stroked me faster. My eyes finally closed.

"Katniss," I whispered. "I'm gonna..."

"Mornin' Peeta Bread!" I jumped a mile high and Katniss jumped off of me, throwing the blanket over herself. My idiot brother burst into the room, hoping to scare me awake. Luckily, the blanket was still covering my lower half.

"What the fuck, Chaff?" I shouted, throwing a book, which he blocked with the door. He opened it again after the thud of the book.

"Ooh.. Little Peeta Bread's got a girl in his bed. Hey Ash! Check it out! Peeta's got a girl in his bed!"

"Get the fuck out of here!" I yelled, chucking another book at him. He blocked it with the door again, and reopened it.

"You should've known I was here, baby, or Avril would've wandered in here. My girl wakes up at 6."

"Get out!" Another book, another block, but this time he was gone. Half of Katniss' face was hiding under the covers.

"I'm so sorry about that," I apologized. She just smiled.

"It's okay," she said. "So, he seems..."

"Crazy? Yeah, that's Chaff." I was still panting from earlier and in pain to finish, but I was sure I wouldn't get release now. I laughed and got out of the bed to put some short over my boxers. "I'll go get your clothes."

When we came down, breakfast was set on the table. Omelets, sausages, and hash brown lined the table, but there were only two settings.

"About time," Chaff said as we came down the stairs. "Had to reheat some of the food. Hope you're hungry." He smiled at Katniss and I rolled my eyes. My brother was never civil unless there was a woman in the house.

"Are you eating?" Katniss asked my brother.

"I already ate with Avril and Ash."

"Did you go see Teban?" I asked as I pulled out a seat for Katniss.

"Brought him home this morning. It's like he never left." He looked at Katniss again.

"Hope you like the food. There's more in the kitchen if it's not enough." And then he left.

"He says thank you," I said when I gave Katniss a plateful of food.

"Huh?" Katniss said as she took it.

"Chaff isn't good with please and thank you's, so he cooks," I explained. She gave me a face that said she understood. I hoped there was an apology somewhere here too for this morning, but I could only hope for so much.

Katniss

Chaff and Peeta were gone somewhere so it was just me and Ash sitting in the couch, drinking tea and watching her kids. Teban apparently had a huge thing with trains and Avril was into art. This time, she was working with modeling clay.

"How did you meet Chaff?" I asked, my attempt at small talk.

"Like you and Peeta. We were contracted when we were young. I was 3, he was 8."

"You guys got along?"

"No. He was my bully." That seemed like a story I shouldn't get into. She stared off at her children for awhile. "You want kids?" I took a moment, unsure of how to answer this question. She probably figured it out by my lack of response. "I had always wanted kids. But she takes that from you too."

"Who?" I inquired.

"Their mother. She'll make your life hell until you give her grandchildren. And then your life is hell afterwards." She seemed to have a warning look in her eyes, but before I could ask her, the boys were back.

"So Katniss," Chaff called out when he and Peeta entered. "I wanted to take you guys out to dinner for taking care of Avril and Teban and for... you know. Saving him and all. You game?" I looked at Peeta who just smiled.

"Uh, sure. I just need to go home to change and stuff."

"We'll say 7?" He took the lack of response as a yes. "Good. Gotta make a call, babe. We're having ribs tonight!" She rolled her eyes. Peeta offered his hand to me.

"Come. I'll take you home."

I thought it was either clever or odd that Chaff picked the restaurant he did. It was casual enough, even grungy, so my insanely worn hand-me-down jeans from a neighbor and a faded red top fit right in. But Chaff swore that the ribs were the best he'd ever had. When I opened the menu, my eyes bugged out at the prices. I didn't feel right about just getting anything so I opted for the cheapest on the menu.

"I'll get the chicken," I ordered.

"Chicken? You can't chicken at a rib joint, baby. It's sacrilegious." He looked to the waitress. "We'll get the dinner for 8. A pitcher of Coke and 2 milks," Chaff said pointing to the kids. The waitress jotted her notes and left.

"Dinner for 8?" I almost exclaimed. "There's only 6 of us and two of us are really really small."

"Can you not see the size of this Mellark?" he replied, pointing at Peeta. "Look at the size of this thing. He'll take care of it." Peeta laughed and winked at me. "Don't worry about the money, sweetheart. Daddy's got it covered."

"So are you in the baking business too?" I queried. Chaff took a complimentary bread stick and started nibbling.

"I work with our father. We're on the corporate end of things."

"Do you have a lot of bakeries?"

"We got 3 in other districts, and one at the Capitol." I made a "wow" face. That was much more than I thought.

"So that's where the money's from," I blurted out, which I realized was distasteful, but Chaff didn't seem to mind. He took a sip of his beer.

"Actually, old sweet mother is from money." He raised his glass to Peeta who just smiled at him.

"Our mom's stepfather is uh... kind of a big shot," Peeta told me nervously. "He sends her money and stuff just to get her off his back."

"Sorry I'm late!" I turned around in my seat to see Mr. Abernathy joining our table. He waved a waitress down. "Grab me a cold beer, won't you, honey, and ask me if I want more when the bottle looks empty." He turned to look at us. "What'd I miss?" I was still in shock that my history teacher was sitting at our table.

"Haymitch is Chaff's best friend," Peeta mumbled to me.

"Oh look. It's Everdeen," Mr. Abernathy said, realizing that I was here. "Took you long enough, Peeta. Damn." That made me remember something.

"Oh my gosh, Mr. Abernathy. You put us in the same group on purpose!" I cried, thinking about the odds of me being put in Peeta's group the day he saw me kissing Gale. The waitress came and set a bottle down in front of Haymitch.

"Now why would I do that, sweetheart? And call me Haymitch outside of school." He took a long drink of his beer. "So where is that dear mother?"

"In hell, I hope," Chaff says. Ash elbowed him and pointed to the kids who were happily drawing in or tearing up the restaurant activity books.

"Damn, what a drunk," Haymitch said with another sip. Ash rolled her eyes and smiled. It didn't escape me of how much Chaff and Haymitch drank. I wondered how Ash felt about that, especially considering the effects of alcohol on their mother.

After dinner, I got up to use the restroom and Ash decided she had to use it too. I never quite understood why women needed to go to the bathroom together, but apparently, that was the rule. We took care of ourselves and met again at the sink to wash our hands.

"You having a good time?" Ash asked me.

"Yeah, thank you so much for taking us out," I replied.

"We owe our lives to you. I don't know what I would've done if Teban..." she broke off.

"I'm glad I could help." She smiled and went to dry her hands. "Ash." I hesitated to ask, but for some reason, I was compelled to. "Does Chaff drink like that a lot?" She smiled.

"Yes."

"Does it bother you?"

"Yes. I have to control him sometimes, limit how many he has. But I can never tell him to stop."

"Sorry, I know it's not my business. Just, I wonder if Chaff does, maybe someday.. Peeta will..."

"Chaff drinks because it's the only way he knows how to deal with growing up with his mother. But Peeta has another outlet."

"What?"

"He's never shown you?" I shook my head. She gave me a crooked smile. "I'll let him tell you then."

The remaining weeks leading up to graduation breezed by and it made me a little sad that high school would be all over. I was surprised by how much I had changed over the past few months, after meeting Peeta. I appreciated my friends and family even more than I did, and I felt comfortable opening myself more.

After the graduation ceremony, Peeta came over for a Seam meal with my family, bringing dinner rolls, cake, and cider. Of course our food was little and not very tasteful, but I felt we had our own culture here and to be with me was to understand it. Since we didn't have enough room inside, my mother set up a box with a board on it and covered it with a bed sheet to serve as our dinner table. She lit some candles that she found and the four of us had dinner in the moonlight, eating duck, turnip, and bread. I was sure he would throw some of it back up since the taste and texture was not what he was accustomed to, but Peeta was a gentleman and ate everything.

After dinner, we went to a bonfire in the woods. There was a lake nearby that a lot of people liked to go to on hot days, which was bigger than the one my father used to take us to. The summer night was warm and the enclosure of the trees seemed to make the air humid. Still, the fire burned big and bright with 30 or so newly graduated seniors sitting around it or taking a dip in the lake.

"Katniss! You came!" Madge ran up to me and pulled me by the hand to a seating area where two logs lay side by side, the smaller one closer to the fire. She handed me a long stick with a marshmallow on it. "Have you ever had a s'more before?" I shook my head. We had roasted marshmallows once when my mom decided to give us a treat and brought home a bag. But I had never heard of a s'more. I cooked mine to its slightly tinged perfection and Madge used the sweet crackers and chocolate to take it off the stick before handing it to me. I had to admit it was delicious. Madge laughed and pointed to my face where I realized globs of marshmallow dotted my face and I found it fun watching others with a similar problem.

"Peeta! You made it!" I turn around to see Finnick Odair walking towards us, hand-in-hand with Annie. Finnick slapped Peeta on the back. "And you brought your girl. Are you guys dating now?" We look at each other awkwardly. "No? Still haven't had the talk? Am I making things uncomfortable for you right now?" I blushed and looked down. "I love an awkward crowd. You want something to drink, love?" I look up and was relieved that Finnick was taking to Annie. She nodded and he left. Annie took a seat beside me. A few seconds later, Finnick came back with a bottle of water for Annie.

"Oh hey, I got the invitation," he said to Peeta as he took a seat beside Annie. "You guys are getting married pretty quick. Our parents haven't even started talking about our wedding." My eyes widened. _Invitations? When the hell did they send out invitations? _"I take it by the lovely look of your lady that she didn't know you were getting married?" he said gesturing to me.

"No, I mean," I stuttered. "I knew it soon, I just didn't know the date was set and everything."

"It's like 2 months away. Should we expect you to be there?" he asked jokingly.

"Shut up, Finnick." So kind of my mother to keep me up to date about my own wedding. Then it occurred to me that she actually might've told me, but I tended to let my eyes glaze over and tune her out. After awhile, I leaned towards Peeta. "You want to go for a swim?"

"I don't have a swim suit." I smiled.

"Neither do I."

We walk to a farther spot than the others to enter the lake. It was dark, lit only by the moonlight and the millions of starts above. He looked at me nervously and I smiled before lifting my shirt over my head and slipped my pants off so that I was standing in my bra and panties. I could see how nervous he was getting as he looked around to see if someone could see. I rather liked the effect I had on him. I stepped into the water first, feeling the grass dissolve to sand into mud, into water. The water was as black as oil. I stood and held out my hand towards Peeta. He had stripped down to his boxers and tentatively stepped in to meet me until we were waist deep in the water. He took hold of my hand and I tried to lead him in deeper, but he resisted.

"I can't swim," he admitted to me, a little ashamed.

"I'll teach you." He looked nervously at the water and I saw a fear in his eyes that I had only seen one other time when his mother berated him at his birthday party. "It's okay. We can leave."

"No, it's okay. I just don't want to go any deeper." I wanted to comfort this innocent bear; I hated the fact that he had so much pain deep inside a place he probably locked away for years. He held nothing back from me; he wanted me to know the real him and not just the one he displayed for everyone else. He carefully lowered himself in the shallow water so that his body was at least submerged. "My mom used to use water to punish me when I was little," he finally said. "Sometimes I'd get lucky and she's just spray me against the wall with a strong hose. "But sometimes she's make me lie down and she's spray the hose on my face, or if the tub was full, she'd hold me under and bring me back up to hold me under again."

"Oh Peeta," I gasped

"I'm sorry," Peeta said smiling. "I don't know why I keep telling you all this. I've never really told anybody; not even Chaff and I talk much about our mom. I didn't want you to worry about all this. There's just something about you that makes me want to tell you." He looked at me with his blue eyes, which seemed grey in the moonlight.

"How do you deal with it?" I asked. "When there's no one to tell?" He smiled.

"What do you think? I paint."

"What do you paint?" He paused with a small smile before answering me.

"You. The stars, the school, me."

"And it helps?" I asked him. He nodded.

"Keeps me from becoming like her."

"Could I see them?" He gave me a nervous smile.

"They're uh... more meant for just me." He lifted me so that my legs wrapped tighter around his waist. "I'm in love with you. Have been my whole life. I'm so in love with you, I don't know who I am without you." I knew he did, but there was something about him telling me so freely that was different.

"Why did you never tell me?" I asked him, gently touching his cheek with my finger tips.

"I thought you were in love with someone else. And I thought you hated me. Not in a million years did I think you could feel anything for me. Not for the boy you were forced to marry."

"I never hated you, Peeta. I could never hate you. And I was never in love with anyone else."

"I was happy about the contract," he admitted. "I knew it was wrong for me to feel like that, and I even tried to break when I fully understood it. But a small part of me was happy that you would marry me." He looked at me sadly, like this confession would send me running for the hills, but I knew he felt guilty for these feelings. I swam closer to him until I was so close, our legs were getting tangled. It was just easier to wrap my legs around his waist.

"It's okay, Peeta," I said finally. "I'm really okay with it." I leaned in and kissed him.

"This can't be real, right?" he asked when we broke away, his eyes still closed.

"Of course it is." He laughed.

"Sometimes I can't tell."

"It's real, Peeta. It's real."

**I hope it was worth the wait. If not, the next may be. :D Coming soon!**


	8. Here Comes the Bride

**As promised... next freebie chapter!**

**InlovewithMellark**** kicked my ass for not fulfilling my promise of 3 chapters. I'd like to apologize. My friend's father fell really ill this past week and passed away a few days ago, so I've been helping her family with this and that, going over and spending time with them. Now that I'm home, I'm posting these up now. Thanks ****InlovewithMellark**** for keeping me in check! I'll warn you, after this, it may be a few weeks before I update again because the chapters after are in serious need of refining.**

**Huge shout out to marycontrary82****. She gave me the idea to throw Cato back into the story and that led to an added complication in the storyline which I think came out kinda cool. Thanks marycontrary82!**

Here Comes the Bride

I spent almost every day with Peeta for the next month. Hunting with him was a fail since it seemed like his feet made noise when he stood still, so he either he came with me on long walks (where, of course, we would find a place to rest and talk) or helped us with housework. Sometimes he would take me to the mall, but it wasn't my favorite place. On days I didn't or couldn't see him, I was out hunting, still determined to provide my family with meat and other foods so my mom could buy other necessities. Peeta was also very generous to my family.

Apparently the final arrangements for our wedding were made. The confirmed guest list was drawn up and everything finalized. I had no problem with the fact that I had no input in my own wedding, except when it came down to the dress. Peeta's mother had picked out a designer label she wanted me to the wear. To me, it looked like a dollop of sour cream. And not in a good way.

In the end, it was agreed that I would wear the hideous fondant-gone-wrong outfit for the ceremony and wear my gown for the banquet. I was bothered by the fact that I didn't have a lot of details I cared about for the wedding, but _not_ looking like a blown-up seashell was one of them, and no one could give me that.

Peeta picked me up late morning. He didn't say where we were going or why, just told me to be ready to go at 11:30. I got into his car and saw the absurdly long gift wrapped box in the backseat.

"What's that?" I inquired pointing to it. He just smiled.

"In due time," he replied. I hated surprises.

"I told you not to get anything big."

"I didn't listen to you." He smiled a rascal's smile and I had a feeling I was going to feel indebted to him again.

Peeta took me to a spot just outside of the forest where the sun shone and the wind blew a nice cool breeze. He spread a blanket out and put the basket and gift down before taking out the warm pasta, the cheese buns, lemonade, and fruit. He served both our plates and we ate happily, hardly a word exchanged between us, but it was comfortable and friendly. My eyes kept darting at the box. He put down his bread and handed me the box with two hands.

"Happy 18th birthday, Katniss." I hesitantly took the box and slowly pulled the yellow ribbon and undid the wrapping. It was a black metal case. I set it down and lifted the top off.

"Oh my gosh," I gasped. I pulled out a professional compound bow, the kind you could only get from the Capitol, and steel-tipped arrows. My fingers ghosted over the metal detailing and feasted on its texture and grip. It was heavier than my homemade wooden one, but I assumed that it made it that much stronger. I tugged on its tension; it was strong, which would make the arrow fly faster.

"I know you're kinda attached to the one you have, but I just thought once in awhile if you wanted to, you could change things up with this one."

"Peeta," I started to say. "This is too much. I can't take this."

"Why not?" I had nothing to say back.

"It's too..."

"It's my first gift to you. Please take it." I looked up at him. I remembered my mother telling me when he had bought Primrose the dress that he might be offended if I made him take it back. I guessed it was true to their etiquette.

I stood up, bow and arrow in hand, and stepped back a few paces till I gauged a good enough distance from the nearest tree. I didn't want to shoot too hard or far since I wanted to keep the arrows. I pulled back a bit to get the tension just right. I wasn't used to the weight or feel, but I hoped I would eventually. I released and the arrow hit the nearest tree, almost perfectly so that the head still stuck out of the tree. I heard Peeta applauding from where he lay, propped up on an elbow.

"How's it feel?" Peeta asked.

"You wanna try?" I asked. He gave me a curious look and then joined me where I was. I gave him the bow and he assumed the stance. I lowered his shoulder, raised his elbow, adjusted his posture. I kept my body close to his from behind to keep him from moving suddenly. I realized how comfortable I was standing so close to him and let my head fall onto his upper back. It was a few seconds we stayed like this until I was confident he was ready to shoot.

"Ow!" He had released without my command, and incorrectly, so that the arrow flopped to the ground and the twine snapped back into his hand. I took his hand and examined it.

"Broke the skin just a bit," I reported, tracing the red line in his hand. ""Better than my first time." He chuckled.

"Liar." I laughed.

"It's bleeding."

"I brought some napkins. " Without letting go of his hand, I walked us to our picnic and pulled out a cloth napkin from the basket and he clamped his hand on it.

"Why'd you let go?" I asked giggling.

"You distracted me." I chuckled and shook my head, noting how close we were sitting, so close I could hear his breath deepen. I refolded the napkin so that the fresh side would contact his skin and wrapped his fingers around it to keep some pressure on it. I looked up at him; he was already looking at me. He looked away. "I guess I'll leave the hunting to you."

"So long as you cook." We chuckled, but his intense gaze locked me in. I felt myself gravitate towards him, and I knew I was falling for him. He leaned closer to me.

"Can I kiss you, Katniss?" he whispered.

"Yes." His lips touched mine. I had forgotten how soft his lips were. His kisses were small, as they always started out. I kissed him back, opening my mouth to let his tongue taste me. His kisses got stronger, and I obliged. His hand was on my neck as he deepened the kiss. His lips broke away from mine and found interest in my neck, trailing downwards and then back up at my collarbone to my ear. His hot breath on my ear caused me to grab his shirt, pulling him closer to me. A warm tongue felt its way around and I shuddered at the sensations.

Then the hand at my neck slowly fell lower, and lower, until it was at my breast. But the touch brought me back to the night with Gale and his roughness and how he forced me down and tore my clothes. I jumped when Peeta's palmed my covered nipple and broke away.

"I'm sorry," he said, realizing what he was doing. The look on his face was of horror, and I could see his concern for my feelings.

"No, I'm sorry. I just..." I stammered.

"It's okay, you don't have to explain. I shouldn't have presumed.." I was so stupid. Of course he would presume, especially after what I did to him in his bed, even though it was over a month ago since I had done anything like that. But I was doing that to him. Something about him doing it to me was different.

"It's not that I don't want to," I interrupted.

"You don't have to explain." He wrapped his arms around me and I leaned into him. "We can go slow." I nodded, hugging him. He kissed my forehead. "You ready for your cake?"

"Only if you made it."

I had to go to the market. If I had told Peeta ahead of time, he would've taken me in his car, but he was working at his father's bakery more and more, so I was on my own.

"Hey, look who it is!" I closed my eyes. Why? Why was this guy always around when I was alone?

"Cato," I greeted him. He ran up beside me.

"I got your invite for your wedding," he said haughtily. I regretted not paying more attention to the details of the wedding to give in input like _not_ inviting certain people. "You must really have no friends to fill up your side." I tried to ignore his comment and quickened my pace. "But in all seriousness, I think what you're doing is great. I wouldn't be able to do it. You know, marrying him and all." He paused, I guessed for a reaction, which I tried not to give. "I mean, freedom nowadays is a rarity. I would've thought you of all people would want that. You could be a bitch to whoever you want, answer to no one. Run around naked in the forest all day and all night. That seems more your speed. I mean, Peeta's not the worst, but now you have to be joined at the hip, live in _his_ house, listen to _his_ problems, let him win. Have babies." _Go away, _I thought to myself. _This guy needs to go away, now_. "Do you even love the guy? I always thought girls needed the whole love thing to get married. I guess in that case, it might work. You don't seem like the love type." And that was enough. I rolled my hands into fists so tightly I thought I would cut off my own circulation. I didn't even realized I had hit him until I saw him moaning on the floor with his nose painted red, my knuckles throbbing. I really wanted to throw another one, but I restrained myself.

"If you show up at my wedding," I said standing over him with the utmost authority, "I'll kill you." I casually walked away, hoping he wouldn't come after me. I peeked over my shoulder once to make sure, and then turned a corner. I hated Cato for saying what he did, but no matter how much I tried to block out the words or think of how stupid and disgusting Cato was, I couldn't escape the fact that he had spoken nothing but the absolute truth.

The night before the wedding, my mother had given me her wedding advice and Primrose and I had our last day together bonding time. Now the world fell asleep to awaken to a new day. But I wasn't sleeping. I couldn't even lie down. Lying down meant I would sleep, and sleep meant that tomorrow would come faster. As much as I tried to convince myself that tomorrow should be, would be, the happiest day of my life, I couldn't accept it. Cato's words rang through my ears like a warning. _I thought girls needed the whole love thing to be married. You don't seem like the love type. _I began feel suffocated and hyperventilate at the same time. _Have babies. _I needed air. I needed to breathe. _Let him win. _I ran out of my house and ran out into the openness outdoors. When my bare feet couldn't stand the cold damp grass, I fell. _Live in his house. _I panted and heaved, my hand on my neck to remove the invisible bounds that strangled me. Why did I feel like this? I started crying, still struggling to breathe, hugging myself to keep me from falling completely into the grass. _Do you even love the guy? _ I cried and screamed, unable to rid myself of these feelings.

When I calmed down, I stood up and returned home. I could still feel the pressure on my chest and the heavy weight on my shoulders. Primrose was awake when I walked through the door. She was sitting on the bed. She didn't move, so in my broken state, I went to her and lay my head on her lap.

"Are you okay?" she asked me meekly. I shook my head.

"I don't know why I'm not," I admitted to her. It was strange that she would be the only person I could talk to about this, the one I was doing this for. She stayed silent before asking her next question.

"Dad hated that Mom signed that contract," Prim said. I didn't know how she knew, her being so young when he passed away, but I knew she was right. I remembered them fighting for weeks about it, and it took possibly even years for him to talk about it with me.

"Do you love Peeta?" The burning question I had avoided.

"I don't know." She stroked my hair.

"I can't imagine what it must be like to marry someone you don't love yet." I closed my eyes. "But I think you will love him. I think you do; you just don't know it." I smiled.

"What makes you think that?"

"I'm smarter than you think."

My eyes opened the next morning. Today was my wedding day. The moments I lay in bed would be the most sane of any that day. A car picked my family and me up and we were whisked away to a studio where I was waxed, pulled, teased, and prodded until I was standing in from of a full-length mirror in the ridiculous wedding dress Peeta's mom made me wear. Women of all kinds of colors circled me in fast forward mode as they found flaws and worked to put the finishing touches on me. I stared at myself in the mirror. Even I could see the sadness in my eyes. I didn't choose this. I went along with it for my family's sake, but I never chose it. Maybe that was why I went out with Gale. Being with Peeta wouldn't really be choosing Peeta if I was to end up with him anyway. I chose to be with Gale not necessarily because I liked him over Peeta but because it was completely my decision. I could see the concern on Primrose's face as she studied me. When the ladies left, she took my hand.

"He'll make you happy," she said.

"I know." That wasn't the point, and she knew it.

"It's time," my mother said, interrupting my thoughts. She led me out to the ceremony site and linked arms with me. "Are you ready?" I took a deep breath and nodded. The music started and we made our way down the long aisle to my future.

Peeta

I had awoken this morning almost forgetting what day it was. It took the sight of the tux laid out on my desk chair to remind me. The happiest day of my life. And I knew it would be. Thirteen years I had waited for this day. Thirteen years I had watched her from afar, hoping she would notice the boy she was betrothed to. Now it happened, and here I was.

I started out my usual day with breakfast and a shower while my mother ran around like a lunatic, bottle in hand for the stress, getting the last minutes details settled. I was glad I didn't have to participate in any of the planning. Dealing with my mom wasn't worth getting what I wanted. Chaff and Ash were at our place also helping. I felt bad for what everyone had to go through for this day, but then again it really wasn't for me or Katniss.

Chaff helped me with the vest and tie of my tuxedo, jabbing me with stupid jokes like how my life was over and I needed to keep the woman on a leash. I rolled my eyes, knowing well that he was completely whipped by Ash.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked my brother.

"Anything, Peeta Bread."

"Can I ask you something while you don't refer to me as a sandwich wrap on my wedding day?"

"How may I be of service to you, master?" he joked with a slight bow. I ignored it.

"Was Ash... did she... were you guys in love when you guys got married?" He smiled at me while he redid my tie.

"Don't think about the little stuff like love, little brother. It has its own time."

I was so nervous standing up there with only my brother by my side. The room seemed so big and small at the same time. The ceilings were high, and a garden could not have had more flowers than the walls and pews of the church. Every eye was on me, which made me start to sweat. I was relieved with the music started and everyone stood and turned towards the back.

Primrose came out first in her light blue dress, slowly making her way down to the front. I gave her a wink when she was close enough to see and she smiled. I took a deep breath when the music changed. All of my concerns and questions were lost when I saw my bride coming towards me. She walked so slowly in beat with the music, her eyes slightly downcast at first. She was wearing the hideous dress my mom picked out for her, but it did nothing to take away from her beauty. When her eyes met mine, my breathing stopped. I could see her smiling under her thin veil. It felt like an eternity she walked towards me, but when her mother handed her to me, I could only try to be mentally prepared for the feeling of being given her eldest daughter. I walked us over to the presider and we stood hand in hand as he spoke a few words. I lifted Katniss's long veil and handed her glass of champagne and took my own for the toasting. I repeated the words he told me to and then was Katniss' turn. I could hear the nervousness in both of our voices, but I didn't care. I was married to the girl of my dreams.

Katniss

My mom carried a good deal of my weight as I stepped through the open doors. Each step felt so heavy and the way to Peeta was so long. I felt as though something pulled me back that made it harder to get to him only to realize that it was my own mind. I kept my eyes low, for one to not trip over the bubbling of the dress, and because I couldn't bring myself to look at Peeta when I felt like this. I couldn't find the bravery that I had all these years, convincing me this was the only way my family would be fed. Not even that was enough to suppress my will to run. I raised my eyes enough to see the hundreds of faces watching me. I felt as though they could see how much I didn't want this. I was getting to closer to Peeta, so I raised my eyes to meet his.

And then everything fell away. Fear, dread, the church, the people. It was just me and Peeta standing there, a smile on his face with a slight quiver like he was going to cry. I smiled too, because that's what his smiles did to me. Before I knew it, we stood hand in hand before the presider with the glasses of champagne in our hands.

"Do you, Katniss Everdeen, take Peeta Mellark to be your lawfully wedded husband?" I stared into Peeta's ocean blue eyes, his comforting smile bringing me home. Home. I had found it. My answer. _Do you even love the guy?_

"I do."

**And now they're married! The moment Peeta had been waiting for!**

**I was gonna just have them marry and be done with it, but it seemed OOC for Katniss to just go into the marriage without a little struggle with herself. **


	9. When Everything Has Been Said and Done

**And the final freebie chapter! Oo... I think you guys will like... you know. Because it's the wedding night! :D**

When Everything Had Been Said and Done

Katniss

The ceremony was grand and glorious, but I hardly remembered a thing. The crazy details and decorations were handpicked and chosen by Peeta's mother, which were impressive, but tacky and overdone to me. She was running around, making sure someone did this and something did that. Everyone was there. Chaff and Haymitch were drinking the night away at the bar while Ash and the other moms sat and talked with their kids running around. Finnick didn't leave Annie's side. Prim brought a date, Sam, whom she was spending a lot of quality time with, as well as her friend, Rue. Even my mother looked pretty cozy with Peeta's father as they quietly watched the night unfold before them. I smiled to myself when I noticed Cato hadn't shown.

My focus was my husband. It was not a romantic journey others would have sought, but I was glad how things turned out for everyone, especially me and Peeta. I realized how much of my happiness rested in Peeta's strong hands and he how he multiplied it. I didn't deserve him, but I wasn't going to let him go for anything.

The night came to an end and we headed home as husband and wife. We were alone since Peeta's parents needed to oversee the teardown of the event and Chaff's family had already left to catch the last train. Peeta helped carry my dress as we walked up the stairs of his house and he led me to the only room that I was sure would really be my home from this day forward.

"Are you ready for your wedding present?" he asked me with his hand on the door knob. I gave him a suspicious smile, but his own smile didn't reveal anything. Did he really expect sex on our first night together? Of course that was tradition, but I knew I wasn't ready for it. But there was something about Peeta that made me trust him, and I felt that whatever he had for me, I was ready for. I nodded and he took my hand, opened the door, and turned on the light.

I gasped when I saw the room. It was a lot different than what I had slept in only a month ago. I had no idea when he had the time to do it with all the time he spent with me. The bed stayed where I remembered it but against a solid brown wall I remembered being white, perfectly matching its coverings. To the right of it where a sheet had covered it before, Peeta had transformed a plain white wall into an incredible mural of the woods. _My_ woods. I stepped further into the room towards the windows to see the mural in its glory. The trees were breathtaking with what must've been hundreds of different shades of greens he used. At a distance, I could see the subtle details: the large rocks hiding behind trees, a jumping deer, some birds in flight. A spring flowed from a small waterfall where fish swam and frogs leapt. I couldn't take my eyes off everything. I couldn't explain why but I was almost on the brink of tears. I didn't want to ask why he did this or how long it took him. Those questions I could ask later. At this moment, I was in my woods, in my home, and I wanted to stay. I had almost forgotten the maker of this masterpiece was in the room with me until he stepped forward towards me.

"Do you like it?" I looked at him, my hands covering my otherwise gaping mouth. I couldn't even hug him yet because I wanted to stare at it more. I couldn't even speak to say how beautiful it was and how grateful I was that I could come home and see this everyday and it be the last thing I see when I slept. He pulled me over to the bed and sat me down and the two of us just stared at the painting, his arm around my back.

"Thank you," I finally breathed when I found my voice. I looked at him and smiled a thankful smile. "It's breathtaking."

"I'm glad you like it," he said to me. I stared at his angelic face, into his deep blue eyes.

"I love it." I had no idea how long I analyzed the painting, drinking in all the colors and details. He looked down at my dress.

"You must be tired. We should get changed." I nodded. He stood up and helped me up. I turned to walk towards the bathroom. I stopped before entering and turned back to look at Peeta. I noticed him struggling with the buttons of his shirt.

"You okay there?" I asked.

"Yeah. These buttons are just kinda small and a little tight. I'll have to have tweezers to take this thing off." I smiled and walked towards him.

"Here." I started at the top and undid the first button. I didn't realize how close I was to him until I was on the second button. His breathing deepened as I slid my hand down his shirt, revealing little by little his bare skin underneath. I undid the last one until his skin peeked out of the fabric of his shirt.

"Could you help me with mine too?" I asked as I turned my back to him. "You have to undo the hooks." I felt his fingers slide under the top of the back of my dress as he worked to figure out how to undo the first hook. When it was undone, he did the next one, the backs of his fingers sliding down my back. I didn't realize until then how much I liked that simple touch and began to feel tingles up and down my spine and stomach. His hand stopped just under my lower back as he undid the last hook. I let the dress fall and he took my hand as I stepped out of it. I was grateful that I was wearing the simple dress that I was; I was told that modern dresses required complicated corsets and petticoats, but I was only in my white bra and panties. I didn't feel shy about my near nakedness; in fact, I wanted him to see. His gawking could not have been more obvious as he gazed at my body, slowly letting his eyes lower and then look back up. He said nothing, as if unsure of what to do. He was already so close to me, still holding my hand. I took small steps toward him to stand so close to him that we barely had to lean in to kiss. He met me halfway with a soft, light kiss as if it was our very first. His eyes were shut so tightly, his mouth barely opening. He made no move, and I remembered how embarrassed he must've felt when I pulled away the last time he tried to take things further. So if I wanted more to happen, it was on me. I hadn't planned this; maybe this wasn't something that could've been planned, or should've. I thought of the mural he spent over a month painting for me and him running to me when Cato had me against the lockers, taking my bag each time he was about to drive me home, giving me his book, and taking my strikes and humiliation when I had forgotten.

I reached into his open shirt and lightly ran my hands down his defined chest with feather touches. I felt him shudder, his kiss getting a little hungrier. I moved my hand so that it slid across his chest and ever so slowly slid his shirt off of one shoulder. His lips became still, his concentration on my hand on his chest. I used my other hand to slowly take the other side of her shirt off. Just as I dropped the shirt, we both opened our eyes as he let me undress his body. His hands ran up my arms, his eyes locked so obviously locked on my breasts. I was beginning to enjoy the effect I was having on this beautiful man. My fingers spread out as I lightly ran them down his torso until I was at his belt. Again, slowly I undid the buckle, then the button, and pulled his zipper down and let gravity take care of his pants. His breathing was sharp and audible. I pushed him closer to the bed and sat him down, my hand on his racing heart.

"Your heart's beating so fast," I whispered.

"I'm nervous," he said half smiling, half serious.

"Me too."

"Are you sure this is what you want?" I smiled.

"We only have one wedding night." We kissed and I slid a finger into the top of his boxer shorts and I tugged to indicate to him I wanted them off. He looked at me nervously, but didn't deny me my request. I almost gasped when I saw the size of it. I had felt before with my hands, but seeing it was something else. I had only seen one another, but the context of how I came to see it was so frightening to me, I didn't note or care for its size. Seeing Peeta's member made me curious and a little excited. I let my finger gently stroke it and it bobbed its head at me. "It's so soft."

"It feels so good when you do that," he told me. I began to grow bolder and cupped my hand around its circumference and stroked it up and down. Peeta moaned and leaned back on his elbows. I could feel the veins under my fingers become more prominent and looked to see what my hands had done to him. I looked back at Peeta whose head was thrown back. I climbed on top of him and kissed him. But I wanted more. So much more. I broke from the kiss and whispered into his ear, "Fuck me, Peeta." I had found the magic words. His desire was just as evident as his alarm.

As if the combination to a lock triggered the release of a beast, Peeta flipped me over onto my back and kissed me hard. He wrestled me with his mouth, getting his tongue so far in, so I had to kiss back just as hard to breathe. Then I felt his burly hands lifted me up from our supine position. He sat me up on my knees and he turned me around so that my back was to his chest. I leaned forward to keep my balance, but he held me up as his hands began to grab and squeeze my breasts. With one hand, he unclasped my bra and it was gone. One hand continued to massage them both while the other slid down my stomach and into my panties. I gasped at his touch. I was afraid he'd be shocked of how wet I was, but it didn't deter him. He stuck a finger inside me and I let out a yelp.

"Fuck, you're so tight, Katniss," he grunted. His finger began to move in and out of me and I started to lose control, moaning as his hands moved faster. Only one other person had done the same moves to me, but never had it felt so good. He was breathing into my neck, then began to kiss, nibble, and lick the back of my neck. He leaned me forward just a bit to kiss my shoulders, the middle of my back and as low as he could. I moaned when his tongue ran up my spine, realizing how much I loved his mouth there. My hand reached back and I found his member, rubbing it the way he so obviously liked it earlier. He stuck another finger in me, causing me to gasp. "Rub that cock, Katniss," he groaned. "Your hands feel so good on my dick." He was becoming a different person the more I stimulated him and it turned me on in an animalistic way I wanted so badly to succumb to. His fingers pulled out but before I could miss the sensations, he threw me onto the bed and spread my legs. A thumb ran up and down my entrance, his other thumb on my clit. "You broke a lot of hearts today." I laughed and bit my lip.

"How did I break hearts?"

"Because a hundred guys at our school wanted to be with you, and they now they never can." Without permission or warning, his cock was pushing its way inside of me. I had expected more pain than what I felt, but he had gotten me so wet, it wasn't until he was truly inside that I felt anything. I yelped in pain, but recovered quickly.

"Guys don't see me," I argued. He began to slowly move in and out. Despite the lubrication of my juices, it hurt, my insides stretching over his size so I bit my lip to keep from showing it.

"Guys see you," he said without stopping. "Guys fantasize about you."

"No they don't!" I smiled before a wave of pleasure hit and I threw my head back. His hands grabbed my inner thighs as his thrusts became deeper, his rhythm still slow.

"They used to talk about you. They wanted to touch you and make your scream. They wanted to feel you writhe under them." I had never heard Peeta talk like this, but I could tell it was turning him on, like he was claiming his prize in a high stakes competition. It made me feel desirable and I began to enjoy it.

"I only want Peeta Mellark to fuck me," I said writhing beneath him. He lay on top of me so that his full body weight was on me as he continue to jerk inside of me.

"I only want to fuck Katniss Everdeen," he said.

"Mellark," I corrected him. "I'm Katniss Mellark." He groaned.

"Say it again," he commanded, pounding harder.

"I'm Katniss Mellarck!" I moaned.

"Again!" His pelvis beat mine as his rhythm became so fast, I could feel myself exploding inside.

"My name is Katniss Mellark! Aaah!" I screamed, holding the last syllable as my final orgasm took over. Peeta joined my screams and pulled out to let his seed spill onto my breasts and stomach. He fell over beside me, gasping and panting as he recovered before kissing me hard. After a few minutes, we broke away and he looked at what he did to my body.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't know what to do." I smiled and looked at the translucent wetness on me. I touched a little bit with my middle finger and rubbed a little on my nipple, giving him a seductive look. "You're so hot, Katniss Mellarck." He kissed me again.

He got up and I could hear the shower turning on and Peeta came back with a towel to clean me off. I gasped when I inspected the mess on the sheets. There was more blood than I realized and I tried to take the towel from him to keep him from seeing it.

"Did I hurt you?" he said, not giving me the towel. I bit my lip and shook my head. He slowly wiped his contribution off me with a touch so loving.

"Come on," Peeta said helping me up and into the shower. He stepped in after me and washed the hair product that kept my hair in curls all day. He worked up a lather of soap and cleaned my body, working especially, and unnecessarily, to clean my breasts and ass. I washed his golden hair and felt every detail if his muscular exterior with my soapy hands. As erotic as it was, my sex was sore from its first go and his didn't have the life in it as it did earlier.

When we finished, Peeta dried me off first then himself. We went into the room and he threw on a fresh pair of boxers. While I changed, he changed the sheets, and we crawled into the bed.

"Katniss?"

"Mm?"

"You love me, real or not real?"

"Real."

**Review it.**


	10. Why Is It Called a Honeymoon?

**I'm so pissed because I had a HUGE chunk of this story written out, but I for the life of me cannot find it! Argh! And it was brilliant too. Okay, not really, but I really didn't want to write it again. I guess that's just part of the nature of writing, eh?**

**So, I'm sure one or two of you guys are considering writing me hate mail forever. I am so sorry! I kinda lost my funk after being stymied with a case of writer's block. BUT I rewatched the Hunger Games because it is playing at the dollar theater. And yes, it is more awesome the second time around! So I've been writing, writing, writing, so hopefully I'll be better at connecting the dots to keep writing this story well. This is just a little fluff because I like it when they're happy!**

**And many of you commented on the roughness between Katniss and Peeta's first time, but.. that's... just... what I was feeling at the time. :D**

**Why is it Called a Honeymoon?**

Katniss

I woke up for the first time as Katniss Mellarck. I tried to get up when I realized I couldn't because Peeta's hand was grasping a boob. I laughed and turned to face the sleeping beauty beside me. He looked good, even when he slept. Peeta's eyes fluttered open.

"Morning," he said in a deep husky voice.

"Good morning," I replied. He pulled me in closer. I couldn't believe this gentle man was the same rough, commanding one of last night. Maybe we all turn into a different person during sex. Then I remembered something.

"I have a question," I started. He turned his body to give me his full attention. "So last night, you said that other guys fantasized about me." His expression changed to embarrassment, then he smiled.

"I knew I was going to regret saying that," he said laughing.

"So, what exactly was this conversation?" He hesitated... a lot... before answering.

"Guys... like to talk... like locker talk... sort of." I waited for him to continue. "You know, like 'this chick would be great at this position because she dances, or she's a butch, so she's probably the dom. You were kind of a favorite. Or they brought you up because they knew how much I liked you. I never said anything, I swear, but I knew if I told them to stop or walked away they'd just do it more. I didn't like them talking about you like that."

"How very honorable of you," I said, wanting him to know I was okay with it.

"It kinda turned me on last night to think about it," he admitted. "I got what all the guys wanted."

"It turned me on too. I'm also thoroughly offended." He leaned in to kiss me, but I turned away. "I didn't brush my teeth!" I said nervously. He laughed and tried to kiss me more, which I fought. Finally he gave up and I jumped out of the bed to brush the morning breath away.

Peeta

When Katniss disappeared into the bathroom, I walked over to the hamper and hesitantly took the stained sheets out of the hamper, the only physical evidence of last night. The blood had dried, but I bundled it up so that it wasn't visible from the outside. I went to the living room where my mother was, drinking her coffee and tossed the sheets at her feet.

"Happy?" I asked bitterly. She glanced down at the sheet, knowing fully what she would see if she opened it.

"We'll see," she said, looking back at her newspaper. Nothing I did mattered. Only hours of therapy would explain why I listened to her or cared what she thought. I walked away, disgusted with myself for giving into her. At least I didn't completely, and that made me feel nervous and triumphant at the same time.

Every family had their reasons for entering their children into a contract. Finnick and Annie's father formed a business alliance through their contracted marriage. My father always told me he wanted me and my future family to join his company. He later admitted to me he wanted me to marry into a good family, and even though Katniss' mom wasn't money anymore, he still considered her and her offspring of our class. My mom wanted grandchildren. The reason why could only be understand by a sick and twisted specimen of evil. I knew her and her friends were competitive and more grandchildren meant something to her people.

I didn't dare bring condoms into this house; I wouldn't put invasion of privacy above my mother. But I needed to protect Katniss. I knew from a long time ago she didn't want kids, so actually getting her pregnant wasn't an option. I learned how to control myself to make sure I didn't. I, at least, bought us a few months. I didn't really have a plan, but convincing her Katniss was pregnant would keep her off our backs.

Katniss

I didn't have a whole lot of things to unpack in my new home. My clothes and toiletries were easy enough, but then there was the random things like my family's picture frame and my dad's plant book. I was rummaging through the closet to find an adequate place for the bow and arrow Peeta had bought me. Despite the incredible size of our room, the closet was a little cramped, so I opted to leave the case in the storage room and put the bow and arrow in a more accessible place. I pulled out a large luggage bag with a zipper pocket in the back that would fit my bow and arrows quite nicely and easily without taking up any more space in the closet. I mentally patted myself on the back for my cleverness and pushed the case back in when I noticed a large notebook. I pulled it out out of curiosity, realizing that it was one of Peeta's sketchbook, possibly an older one.

I glanced back at the bathroom where Peeta was showering. I opened the book to the first page. Hands. A woman's hands holding a pencil, holding a bag, palms up and closed. The next few drawings were feet, then legs. There was a close up of this woman tucking her hair behind her ear. I had a strange suspicion of who this woman was. Peeta had drawn close ups of different parts of my body from my lips, eyes, hair, stomach. I could see his transformation as an artist. His earlier drawings were tentative and sketched lightly while the later ones were more defined with lots of contrast. As I continued to flip through the pages, I started to wear less and less clothing until there was pretty much just nudes.

"Oh.. Uh.. You weren't supposed to see those. Ever." I look up without closing the book to see Peeta in only a towel, hair damp and tousled.

"They're good," I remark truthfully.

"I drew those a long time ago. Years. Forgot that that was there." I just smiled and continued to flip through the pages. The drawings became more artistic towards the end. He drew entire pictures with me as the subject as part of a mystical scenery, as part of a tree, or standing on a cliff.

"I like them," I said, closing the book.

"Really?" I nodded. "It's not weird?

"It's weird," I agreed with a shrug. "But I married you, so it's less weird." He smiled.

"I guess we should go down for dinner," he said, changing the subject, as he made his way to the closet to dress. I put the book away and snuck up behind him while he threw some clothes on the bed.

I touched his upper back, admiring the subtle peeking out of his large structure, the evidence of his physical labor working at his father's bakery. His arms were already in the sleeves of his shirt, but he froze at my touch before putting the shirt on. I kissed his back and rested my forehead on him. He turned around and kissed me as we made our way to the bed.

"Does it still hurt?" he asked. I nodded.

"Go slow." He kissed me gently and pressing me into the bed. I undid his towel and stroked him. Peeta rub my opening in small circles; I could feel my wetness seeping out of me. Peeta slowly pushed himself in. It hurt more this time than our first. "Relax your hips," Peeta instructed me. I lay back and tried to do as he told me, letting him do everything. When he was completely sheathed, he slowly rocked back and forth. I let out little yelps of pain, but he didn't stop, and I didn't want him to. I had to keep reminding myself to relax as he thrust in and out of me.

Peeta began grunting and his movements became more desperate; I knew he was close. Just as my own orgasm built up, he pulled out and spilled his seed on me. He sat back, catching his breath, his chest and shoulders glistening in sweat before laying beside me.

"So that book is from years ago?" I asked. He nodded. "Why'd you stop?" I turned to see him smile to himself.

"Who said I did?" I smacked him on the chest as he got up and grabbed his boxers.

I thought about Peeta's way of protecting me as we cleaned up and went downstairs for dinner. I never could tell him how much I appreciated him pulling out. I never asked him to, never even talked to him about having children. Somehow, he knew. I figured he had good reason for not using condoms; maybe he didn't like how it felt with it on. I hoped the subject of kids wouldn't come up. But that wasn't really realistic, was it?

Peeta

A few days later Katniss and I were off on our honeymoon. We took an express train which took us to the outskirts of Panem to a popular vacation spot. Our beach house was secluded enough where we could be alone, but close enough to town to still enjoy what a honeymoon had to offer. I took her shopping first after we dropped our things off at the beach house. For a woman who hated malls, she certainly knew how to shop. Everything she tried on made me want to take it off her. We bought groceries for the day and went to eat at a different restaurant every night. I felt like a real married couple.

We were feeling a little adventurous after snorkeling, cliff diving, and eating live shrimp. I noticed a shop with no name and all black windows. I pointed it out and Katniss seemed down to check it out with me. We very quickly realized why this place was blacked out in the middle of a family vacation spot. We were greeted by an almost-naked woman wearing lingerie that failed to really cover the important areas standing beside a female mannequin wearing a...

"What the hell is a strap on?" Katniss asked exasperatedly, looking at the tag. All I saw was a long piece of rubber and averted my head before my brain had a chance to think too much about it.

"May I help you with anything?" the saleswoman asked as she approached us.

"We're just..." Katniss started.

"Honeymoon?" the saleswoman inquired. She smiled, obviously at our uneasiness. "Do you know what you like?" Katniss and I looked at each other awkwardly. "Lemme guess. You seem like the soft, shy guy, so you must be the dominant one," she said pointing at me, "and you must love letting him take control of you," she directed to Katniss. Katniss uncomfortably scratched the back of her neck. The saleswoman, enjoying our awkwardness, gestured for us to follow her, so I tailed Katniss as she took her over to the lingerie. Judging by the mannequins, Katniss wasn't going to buy lingerie today. Either out of politeness or curiosity, we let her grab a mass of things and shove them into Katniss' arms.

"Why don't you try this on?" The saleswoman opened a change room door and let Katniss is. "Make sure you keep your panties on when you try on the lingerie?" She turned to me after closing the door behind Katniss. "See anything you like?" the saleswoman asked with a hand on her hip with a possibly seductive smile. Shameless. I looked around hoping to find an adequate conversation piece. I found a poster on a board where there seemed to be a lot of ads for random things.

"What is that?" I asked, pointing to the loudest looking one.

"_The Hunt_? Massive hunting sport where all the best hunters find out who the best hunter is. It's pretty hot watching all those sweaty old men take out a beast three times their size.

"It's a sport?" She shrugged.

"Requires just as much skill and training, if not more." She looked me up and down. "You don't seem the killing kind."

"I don't. My wife is actually really good. I just paint."

"You an artist?" I shrugged. She led me to another section of the store. "You might be interested in this." She handed me a bottle labeled _Sweet Edible Body Paint. "_Paint it on, and lick it off. Easy as that." She looked over my shoulder and tended to Katniss. "How those work out for you, girl?"

Katniss ended up buying a few things I was sure just to make the saleswoman shut up. I kept my distance while they worked their magic on each other and flipped through some books with some pictures that were very helpful... speaking as an artist, of course.

Katniss

A few days later, after discovering that Peeta was better on dry ground and I enjoyed the occasional cooking class, we walked back to our cabin. I took a shower while Peeta turned on the TV. When I had toweled off, I slipped on my new pink cherry blossom silk robe that I had purchased at the sex store and stepped out.

"Peeta?" I called stepping out.

"Yeah," he said, his eyes not leaving the tv.

"I wanted to try something." he looked up at me and turned off the TV.

"Whatcha got in mind?" I threw him the bottle the saleswoman told me he was eyeing.

"You actually got this?" I shrugged and went into the room, knowing he'd be close behind. I gave him a new bamboo paint brush and took off my robe. "Where do you want it?" I thought for a moment and lay down in the bed face down.

"My back." He ran his hands across his canvas before I felt the coolness and tickle of the wet paintbrush. "What are you painting?"

"I don't know. Sometimes when I start, I don't really have a plan. I kinda just let the paintbrush take over. I felt him making swirls and lines on me. After a few minutes, I hear him get up and come back, snapping pictures with his camera. "Sit up," he commanded me. I obeyed, assuming the position he had sketched of me in his book back home. I looked over my shoulder and hugged my knees, smiling slightly with my eyes downcast. "Lie down." I lay back down on my belly, propped up on my elbows.

Peeta ran his fingers over his painting with feathery touches up and down my back that gave me tingles and shivers. His hot mouth was on the back of my shoulder, his tongue removing what he had just painted. He kissed his way downwards, his fingers tracing his swirls and lines. His lips moved lower and bit on the soft flesh of my ass, which caused me to jump and giggle. He flipped me over and took the paint. He began to paint a cherry blossom branch like the one on my bathrobe on my hip, which stretched up to the lower half of my breast. Then he began painting lower in my shuddering, aching sex, anxious for when he would remove his artwork there. When he was satisfied, and took him awhile, he had the camera again and snapped away. I laughed and giggled, bit my lip and pouted.

"You're amazing," he breathed when he out down the camera. His head was at my throbbing clit. He could see my hunger. "You want me, Katniss?"

"Yes," I said desperately. Painfully slowly, he stuck out a tongue and ran in up the flowers he just painted. His lips clamped onto the spot his tongue lingered and he confused to suck me there. "Lower," I begged. He proceeded downwards, still so slowly. Then very quickly, he ran his tongue up my slit, causing my back to arch and me to moan out as if I were in pain. He licked again, each one sending electricity through me. I writhed in pleasurable agony, lifting my hips to him to suck me harder. He held me down, forbidding my movements to influence the plans he had for me. Finally, he ate away at me, drinking what I had to offer. I was screaming in ecstasy with his slippery hot tongue sliding in and out.

When he was done with that, he took off his pants and plunged into me hard. He hammered me roughly into the bed, causing me to scream even more. He turned me over and continued his rhythm from behind, his hand driving my body harder into him as he pounded me. I started to pull on my own nipples, discovering how much I loved the subtle bursts of pain.

He picked me up so that my legs straddled him and without pulling out, he threw me against the wall and slammed into me incessantly.

"My turn to fuck you," I growled when he finished with me on the wall. "On your back." He complied and I threw my leg over him like I were mounting a horse backwards. I knew he loved the view of my back and I wanted him staring at it while I did him. I slid his dripping shaft inside me, and slowly rocked my hips, using my hands as leverage. I heard his grunting and moaning behind me, his hands on my hips. He used his hands to find his own rhythm to grind me over himself. I turned around without pulling him out and continued to fuck him.

When I grew tired, Peeta slid me off the bed and bent me over it, so that my elbows were on the bed,my ass in the air. He pierced me again and hammered me so fast I thought I would have permanent markings.

"I'm gonna cum, Katniss," he grunted and pulled out. I felt the spurts of warm liquid hitting my back. I collapsed onto the bed, breathless and spent. Peeta left and came back with paper towels and cleaned me off. Then he fell into the bed, sweaty and handsome.

"That was incredible," he said.

"You're incredible," I corrected.

"You are."

"You're deleting those pictures, by the way."

"Do I _have_ to?" Peeta whined. I smiled, while he pouted. He reached over to the camera and browsed through the pictures. "Not even one?" I shook my head. We picked our favorites and reveled in the memory. At the end of the night, Peeta deleted the pictures. I curled up in his arms and the two of us fell asleep.

**So there's a lot of fluff in this one. I'm still writing up the next one, which will have more story, and I'm almost happy with how it's turning out. You guys are amazing and thank you all for those who've been reviewing. :D**


	11. A Visit to the Capitol

**Giggling Gummy Bear12 pointed out that pulling out doesn't really work, and I won't repeat what I responded. BUT it did bring to attention that I might be construed as a supporter of unsafe sex, which is totally not true. Remember that they are married and Peeta is doing as much as he is able to to keep Katniss from getting pregnant without getting his ass obliterated by his mom, but it's not the worst thing in the world if they did. They were both each other's first time, so STDs also is not an issue. Wear your condoms, people! **

A Visit to the Capitol

Katniss

I was still in my orange sundress that Peeta had bought me on our trip when we stopped by my family's house before officially returning home from our honeymoon. I had missed them so much that Peeta insisted we see them as soon as we returned.

"Katniss! You're back!" Prim screamed when she opened the door. She jumped on me and latched on with a hug.

"How was your honeymoon?" my mom asked coming out of her room.

"Divine," Peeta answered for me as he kissed my cheek. My mom smiled.

"You two look very happy," she commented. "A nice look for you, Katniss." I let the subtle offense go with a look.

"I wanted to see what was going on with you," I said as I took a seat on Primrose's bed while Peeta pulled up a chair from the dining room.

"Mom doesn't work at night anymore," Primrose reported. "They realized how good she was and gave her better hours. More of them too!" My mother beamed, obviously proud of herself.

"I'm so happy for you, Mom," I said.

"Thank you, Katniss. But I'm not the only one with news. Primrose has a new boyfriend."

"She has a what?" I asked.

"Mom!" Primrose whined. "I wanted to tell her!"

"Isn't she a little too young to have a boyfriend?"

"Just because you were 35 when you got your first doesn't mean I'm too young!"

"I was _17_, and you are still 12. Mom!"

"Oh don't worry about Primrose, Katniss. She's much more mature than you give her credit for." I glared at the two of them for a bit and until I realized I lost.

"So who is this boyfriend? Is it Rory Hawthorne?" I wasn't even sure if they were still friends.

"No. But he has been hanging around me and Rue. Rue likes him but we're not sure what he thinks. It's Sam!"

"Sam?"

"Sam! The guy I went to your wedding with? My date for prom? My boyfriend Sam! Sam!"

"Okay okay, little sister. I was just teasing you. Of course I remember Steve," I said laughing. She glared at me unforgivingly. "I'm very happy for you and _Sam_." She cracked a smile and ran in to hug me. "You're growing up so fast little duck."

Peeta

After the first month, I realized how important it was to convince my mother Katniss was pregnant. She was polite to Katniss, even cordial. Of course, Katniss suspected something, but I just told her sometimes my mom went through periods of sobriety and lucidity, which may or may not be short lived. I expected it wouldn't be an issue between them because that would mean my mother would need to converse and spend time with people, and she didn't do that with anyone in this house. I had to tell my father what I did in case they struck up a conversation, but he didn't seem very worried of needing to lie to her.

Katniss and I were three months into our marriage, three months into her life with my family. They were better than I expected, all things considered. For me, I was in heaven. My mom left me alone, asking only in private of the pregnancy, and at night, I went to bed with Katniss. We made love almost every night, learning more about each other.

What goes up must come down. That was my thought when my mother told us we were visiting my grandfather at the Capitol. Everyone hated him, especially my mother, for reasons I was certain I hated her for. But he asked for us to come, so she made sure we would. We were going to meet my brother and his family on the train at District 4 and then arrive at the Capitol a few hours later.

"I don't understand why we have to go," I complained to my mom.

"Because your grandfather asked us to come," she said.

"Grandfather hates us," I mumbled.

"Is it so hard for you to believe that he would want to see me and my family?" she retorted.

"Grandfather hates you." I picked up another suitcase and threw it into the trunk of the taxi.

"Don't talk about your grandfather that way!" she snapped. "Esteban! We're going to be late for the train!" Dad came out shortly after and locked the door to the house.

"Wouldn't that be a shame?" he mumbled as he opened the car door.

Katniss

The train ride reminded me of the last train ride I took which was coming home from my honeymoon. I couldn't believe how much I loved being with Peeta; it was very unlike me to be attached to someone like this, but I wouldn't give him up for anything. And once I started having sex, I didn't want to stop. Even thinking about non-sexy things about Peeta, made me randy. I looked over at Peeta who seemed bored, sitting in the fast moving train with his parents and his brother's family.

"I'm not feeling very well," I said excusing myself from Peeta's family.

"Are you okay, babe?" Peeta asked me.

"I might need some help getting to the restroom," I said. No one seemed suspicious of my request, including Peeta. He got up and escorted me down the train to the restroom.

"Can you come inside?" I asked. He looked at me weirdly.

"Into the restroom?"

"It'll make me feel better," I said with a little pout. He hesitated, but I knew he wouldn't deny me if I asked him. Besides, I knew I wasn't the least bit sick and he would thoroughly enjoy being on the other side of that door. I led the way and he locked the door behind us. The restroom was extremely small, barely enough room for me to turn around to face him. I began to undo his pants.

"What are you doing?" he whispered exasperatedly.

"It's been 3 days since I've had you. I'm just getting a quick fix." I dropped to my knees and licked his dick quickly, and he inhaled sharply, almost painfully. This was the first time I was ever doing this so the only thing I could think of was how he had done this to me. How he had licked me like an ice cream cone and then stroked, sucked, bobbed. I lapped the head before wrapping my lips around it, using my hand to keep it still. I let my tongue graze and massage his penis as my hand stroked the lower half of him that I couldn't get into my mouth. Peeta held out his hands to steady himself on the wall behind me as he took in his first blowjob. I was so turned on watching him watch me and stroked my own pussy. I began to bob my head so that his stick slid in and out of my mouth. His hips began to move until he was fucking my mouth, a hand in the back of my head, his eyes tightly closed. He was holding back his grunts, but a whimper sometimes escaped his lips.

"My balls. Do my balls." I took my hand off my pussy and began to play with his balls, my hands slightly lubed with my own juices, keeping his meat in my mouth. I took my mouth off and ran my tongue along his length then down to his balls, stroking him with my hand, which was amply lubricated by my saliva. Finally I reinserted his cock into my mouth and sucked as I fucked him with my mouth.

"I'm gonna cum, Katniss!" he whispered. I didn't have a plan for where this cum was to land. I couldn't let him do it on my naked body like normal because I was fully clothed and there wasn't enough room or time for it to go anywhere else. So I kept my lips on his dick and felt the head pulse before my mouth was filled with his warm cum. He was breathing hard and hardly able to stand up. "Swallow it." I didn't care for the taste one little bit, but obviously he wanted me to swallow, so I did. He pulled me up from my knees and kissed my cum-flavored lips hard. "You're incredible," he breathed. "That was amazing. Thank you." He kissed me softly once more and then kissed my forehead. We made ourselves decent and exited the bathroom. Peeta bought me a ginger ale to get the cum taste out of my mouth.

"You've been gone awhile," Ash pointed out when we entered the car. "Feeling better, Katniss?" I smiled

"Yeah. Peeta gave me something to eat, so I feel a lot better now." Peeta blushed but no one seemed to notice.

Peeta took my hand when we stepped off of the train. He smiled weakly at me and pretended things were normal, but I could tell things were getting tense, especially when we got close to the house. I gasped when the car pulled into his grandfather's house. If it wasn't the largest mansion in all of the world, Panem wouldn't have enough land for it.

Our things were sent to our rooms and we were asked to stay in the living room while we waited for Peeta's grandfather. Peeta's family had been here before so they weren't interested in what was there, but I couldn't stop staring at his... decor. He had a bearskin rug in front of the fireplace and the head of a moose above the mantel alongside the heads of deer, antelope, and elk. Not to mention the countless stuffed owls, birds, and wolves.

"You're grandfather's a hunter," I pointed out to Peeta.

"Not like you," he reassured me.

"He's better," I had to admit. "I've never even seen most of these animals outside of books.

"Don't compare yourself to him. That would mean he's human." I look over him expecting a joking smile, but he was serious, and that worried me.

"What are we here for anyway?" I asked

"To help me announce my retirement." I turned around to see a familiar face, but not one I knew in person. He stepped closer to me. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble." His voice was threatening and frightening, and he carried an acrid scent of crushed roses. I swallowed the bile that started to form in the back of my throat before replying.

"Not at all, President Snow."

"Your grandfather is President Snow?!" I exclaimed when we had a moment alone in our rooms.

"Yeah," he said with absolute misery.

"You're related to him."

"He's actually my mom's stepfather," he pointed out.

"That's not the point! You're still related to him."

"By marriage. Not by blood. I take great comfort in that distinction." I rolled my eyes. Like I was interested in the details right now.

"How could you not tell me you were related to the president of Panem?"

"It never came up?" I made a face at him. "I'm sorry. You're right, I should've said something. I just thought.."

"I'd freak out that your family line derives from a man who murdered and cheated his way into office and craps on the people he governs?" Though it could never be proven, everyone knew these things of the great President Snow.

"Yes." I threw myself onto the bed. Peeta patted my head and lay down next to me. "Once you get to know him, you'll hate him so much more." I scoffed then smiled at him.

"Looking forward to it."

Peeta

Dinner was awkward, as the conversation only existed between my grandfather and my mother. Small talk about how things were in District 12 and my mother's work in her circles, all things I'm sure she was proud of but now sounded juvenile.

"Did you see the Nature Parade, Daddy? My group won the Evergreen award for our floral design of the Twelfth Petal float. It was a very distinguished award."

"Why anyone would waste their time on ridiculous things as parades I will never know," he responded without looking up from his steak. She cleared her throat, doing her best to ignore the jab.

"I didn't see you at Peeta's wedding, Daddy." He looked up at me and jeered, returning to his dinner. "There were so many people who were looking forward to meeting you." He looked up finally and swirled around his glass of red wine.

"With a personality like yours, I wonder who exactly deserved the _pleasure_ of your company." Her smile disappeared.

"I have my family, Daddy. In fact, Peeta is starting his own family, too. His wife is already pregnant." _Oh crap_. As I watched this supremely awful exchange happening, I started to realize why she wanted those grandchildren.

"What? Congratulations, Katniss," Ash said from across the table, but Katniss couldn't help the confused look in her eyes.

"I'm not.." she said instinctively. She looked over at me and I cowardly dropped my eyes.

"You're not what, my dear," my grandfather asked.

"I'm not... I'm not sure it's Mrs. Mellarck's place to announce this," she said. I looked over at my mom and grandfather.

"Then you are pregnant, Katniss?" my grandfather chided.

"Uh, yes."

"_Uh, yes_? Is that a yes or do you need some time to think about it?"

"That's not what I.."

"It's a simple question, girl. Are you not pregnant?"

"No!" I blurted out. All eyes fell on me as I glared at my grandfather, but I broke away from his eyes and looked down at my hands. "She's not pregnant."

"What?" my mom shouted. "How could she not be pregnant?"

"Because was lying to you!" I challenged her.

"You insolent child!"

"It seems you've been taking good care of your family," he said to my mother smugly. I lowered my eyes, but I could feel her eyes burning holes into my brain.

That night, I was awakened by a shockingly sharp pain in my stomach. I struggled to breathe, recognizing the familiar sensation of being hit in the gut. I opened my eyes to see my mother standing over me with a cane.

"How dare you embarrass me in front of my father like that," she screamed as she swung the cane again, getting my side. I tried to stifle my groans, but I knew her screaming would wake up Katniss. "You think I'm going to let you get away with that you useless bastard!"

"Stop it!" Katniss screamed from somewhere beside me. She jumped in front of my mother and tore the cane out of her hand.

"You were in on it, weren't you, you little slut? Well I hope you've enjoyed your stay at the Capitol because after the taping tomorrow, you have no home to return to. I never want to see your fat face again, Peeta. You or your whore of a wife." She stormed off before I could shut her the hell up and tell her to stop calling Katniss these things. Katniss was checking out my face before I recovered from the shock.

"Are you hurt?" she asked me. I rubbed my stomach, but it wasn't serious.

"Nothing's broken," I reported. She put a hand on my cheek.

"Tell me the truth, Peeta. What's going on?" I told her what I did and how I had been lying to my mom about her being pregnant. "I just wanted her to stay off of your back. I didn't understand why she wanted grandchildren so badly, until today. She's competing with her father of who is a better parent."

"It's a tie. They both lost." I laughed.

"I'm so sorry Katniss. What my grandfather did, that was my fault," I begged for forgiveness.

"He saw an opportunity to humiliate someone and he took it. Like he does with everyone. You're right. I hate him more now that I've met him."

The next day, we were woken up by a team of makeup artists, stylists, and public relation experts and made to look like a respectable family of the president of Panem. As much I hated the whole thing, I hated what it was doing to Katniss. This wasn't her. She would, under any other circumstances, refuse to be any part of this, do something to make my grandfather know what she thought of him, but she did nothing, and I was sure it was for my account. I felt like such a failure, unable to protect her from the politics of this family. If I was anybody else, she could've had a normal life.

My mother was true to her word. Our bags were packed and left outside the door when the photo shoot wrapped up. She shoved us out of the door in a dramatic scene and we stood there on the grandiose stoop with nowhere to go and no way to get there. I took our bags and we walked off the property.

"Any ideas?" I asked. She took awhile to respond.

"One. But you're not going to like it." I looked at her nervously, knowing we had no choice. "We need a phone." I gave mine to her and she dialed a few numbers.

"Madge? I need you to find out a number for me." She listened to Madge ask something on the other end and sighed. "Gale Hawthorne."

**Who thought he was coming back, eh? Next chapter is heavily in need of a facelift so be just a tad patient for it. Just wanted to get this chapter up to keep me motivated to write! I love your reviews! I'm so happy you guys are taking the time to read my story!**


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